Fate
by TakEnet
Summary: ABANDONED, UP FOR ADOPTION Post-OotP, Harry goes back in time to finish the rest of his schooling with his parents & co! Will be slash, HP-SS later on, hence PG. Please read & review.
1. Prophecies

Author's Note:  
Thought I'd take a stab at writing a "Harry goes back in time fic", after all the really good ones that I've read. I recomment The Paradox of Existence and The Return of the Prodigal, just to name a few. Also thought I'd take a stab at writing something "romance", I like reading it, but never really tried writing anything of the sort. Although, the romance probably won't come until later on. Oh yeah, it'll probably HP/SS - my favourite pairing.  
If you see any discrepencies with the book, please tell me, I don't have them on hand - in this little blurb, I had trouble remembering what Trelawney was like, apart from the multitudes of scarfs and perfume. And if anything's not clear and you want more explanation, please do tell me. I dolove any constructive critism!  
Now, on with the story! Hope you enjoy!  
Oh yeah, if there's any thing similar, I'm sorry - I really wasn't trying to steal anyone's ideas!  
**NOW EDITED!**

Disclaimer:  
Obviously, I own nothing but the plot, and whatever crazy character/name/whatever I come up with.

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**Prophecies**

He was late. And the professor would have his head as soon as he stepped into the classroom. Regardless, 2 minutes late was better than 3 minutes late, and so he ran like the devil was after him. However, he did _not_ plan on being stopped bythe fraud of a Seer and having a second prophecy told to him. First day of classes, and he was late, no doubt the consequences being points taken from his House and a detention, possibly even that night. Being a sixth year student, their dormitories have been changed to double rooms, which were picked by lot. As luck would have it, with only 5 boys in his year, he was stuck having his own room, although, he was thankful for it as it allowed him the privacy to put up any silencing or locking charms should he ever have a nightmare or needed time off for himself. Of course, it was because of this exact same reason that he was now running late – he had forgotten to set his alarm after the Opening Feast last night and his friends couldn't break in to wake him up.

Skidding around a corner, Harry Potter crashed into a heavily clothed woman. Groaning from his spot on the floor – the crash caused both him and the woman to stumble backwards and fall – he looked up and was horrified to find that the person he ran into was none other than Professor Sybil Trelawney. He quickly scrambled up, debating whether to flee the spot under the excuse that he was late for Professor Snape's class or to help the Divination teacher up. However, his dilemma was answered as Firenze the centaur stepped out of the classroom just a few steps down the hallway.

"Harry?" Firenze had came out to investigate the noise, "shouldn't you be in class right now?"

"I'm on my way!" Harry quickly grabbed his bag from the floor, thankful that it didn't burst open from the impact, and made to run again, only to be stopped by a strong grip on his arm. Trelawney had stood up, all her usual airs of _divination_ gone, replaced by a semi-hard demeanor. Harry had only seen her like this one other time, in his third year when the professor made a true prophecy about Wormtail.

"Er...."

"_The Saviour of the World is not who he seems. Born of the present yet lived of the past, he will return to guide his own self. Neither Light nor Dark, he is his own counsel. Upon his return, he must choose, and it is from these choices that his and his enemy's fate will be decided._"

Like last time, this prophecy was stated in the same harsh tone. Upon finishing, Trelawney gave a gentle shake of the head, already back in her usual wishy-washy style.

"Oh, my heavens, child, it was forseen that we would have this accident today!" Barely suppressing his urge to roll his eyes, Harry simply nodded and began to edge away, wishing to head off to Potions. However, he was soon stopped by Firenze this time.

"Just a moment please, Mr. Potter," Firenze had an unusually grave face on, "I'll give you a note excusing you for being late to Professor Snape's class. Promise me that you won't tell anyone about what you just heard, absolutely nobody! And I'll need to see you as soon as you can find the time. I trust that you know the way to my rooms?"

Harry dumbly nodded as he followed Firenze into the new Divination classroom. It still had the appearance of being inside a forest, but now there was an area that clearly stated that Trelawney worked in the same room. The current class was second year Hufflepuffs, and they stared in curiosity as to why the famous Harry Potter was in the room with them. Quickly scribbling a late note, he passed it to Harry, warning him once more to tell no one about the incident earlier.

Bewildered, Harry could only nod – he didn't trust his voice at the moment – and left the classroom, resuming his mad dash to the other side of the castle before he had ran into the Divination professor. He made it to Potions without another other spectacular events. Snape barely glanced at the offered note before ordering Harry to take a seat. Aside from his usual snide remarks, nothing out of the ordinary happened in Potions, nor any classes for the rest of the morning. Indeed, Hermione – and later, Ron, after being informed by Hermione – was curious as to why Harry was late that morning, but with the way everyone had been acting around him lately, walking on eggshells, he was able to brush aside their concerns with minimal effort. However, it did not stop him from wondering why or what the new prophecy was about. Luckily, all the teachers were simply going through the NEWT objectives and guidelines, so it did not require much attention. He knew the prophecy was about him, that much was clear from the "_Saviour of the World_" bit, but he could not understand a word of the rest of the prophecy.

Over the summer, ever since members of the Order had spoke to the Dursleys for him, he had a pretty easy time. Because the members showed up every few days without any pattern or warning, the Dursleys gave up on trying to force him to do chores. The first time they had done that – they had kicked him outside saying he was not allowed in until the whole lawn was perfect – Tonks had conveniently overheard the orders and it took all of Harry's strength to prevent her from hexing the whole family into oblivion. Since then, Harry was free to do as he choose, his friends could call – even visit, to the horror of the whole family – and for the first time ever, summer was actually bearable. Everyone tried their hardest to keep him busy to stop him from brooding over the death of Sirius, and so he had a lot of company over the summer, almost to the extent of _too_ much.

"Well?" the three close friends had sat down at the Gryffindor table for lunch, and now Ron was interrogating him, "Are you ever going to tell us what happened this morning?"

"I told you," Harry said with mock exasperation, "I forgot to set my alarm, slept in, and luckily ran into Firenze who was nice enough to write me a late note!"

"Yes, but there something _else_ bother you, Harry," Hermione added, "you weren't paying much attention in your classes this morning."

"Oh come on Hermione, first day of classes, the same boring lectures about our NEWT, who needs to hear them? The exams aren't until next year anyway!" Ron interjected, opening the start of yet another argument over school.

Harry simply rolled his eyes and shrugged. He wanted to eat his lunch as fast as possible and with the two arguing, he could do so in peace without any interruption. His plan was to get out of the Great Hall as soon as he felt full enough and find Firenze and get him to explain what the prophecy was about. It sounded important, and truth be told, he still hadn't told anyone else of the prophecy Dumbledore told him back in June. Of course, he hadn't had much time to think for himself during the summer months, between homework and the Order members checking on him as well as receiving his OWL results.

On that last topic, Harry was amazed at what he got overall. He was fairly confident that he would receive an O for Defense, and he did. However, he did not expect an O in Charms and the E in Transfiguration was another pleasant result. As he expected, he failed both Divination and History – the former being a complete waste of time anyway, and the latter, he barely wrote anything for his exam. What amazed him the most was his O in Potions. He still wasn't sure whether Dumbledore or McGonagall pulled some strings or other or if he truly did well on the exam. Of course, the written question on Polyjuice Potion was a plus, as well as not having Snape breathing down his neck for the actual potion making. If anything, he was rather shocked to find that he was beginning to like Potions, not that he would admit such a thing to anyone.

Lost in his own thoughts, he was unaware that he had finished his lunch and was simply mashing the crumbs and bits into a mushy mess. However, a loud snort from Ron broke him from his reverie. Quickly downing the last of his pumpkin juice, he muttered a short farewell before dashing out of the Great Hall before anyone else could catch up with him. Hoisting his bag up his shoulder, Harry trotted towards the direction of Firenze's rooms. Upon reaching the heavy oak door, he hesitated. He wasn't sure if it was a great idea to talk to the centaur now instead of after dinner. However, Firenze _did_ say as soon as possible. Taking a deep breath and fearing for the worst, he raised his hand to knock on the door.

Before his fist even made contact with the wood, the door opened and a gentle "come in" was called out. Harry hurried inside and closed the door behind him. This room was very similar to the Divination classroom, made to replicate the interior of a forest. Firenze was sitting in the center of the clearing, reading signs from the fire he had started before him. Gesturing for Harry to make himself comfortable, Firenze slowly doused the fire.

"You are probably wondering about the prophecy, am I correct?" Firenze turned his shockingly blue eyes to look into Harry's green ones.

Harry nodded with slight enthusiasm.

"You probably know that it's about you, but not the meaning of the prophecy itself."

Another nod came from Harry.

"What I tell you now must never be known to anyone else." Firenze waited for Harry's agreement before continuing, "In less than two months time, you will have to make the biggest sacrifice of all – to leave all that you have behind and start a new life."

Harry gasped at the news, "But – but _why?_"

"The fates have been determined, my boy, I am sorry. But for your sacrifice, you will meet and know those you love but never had a chance to know."

Harry blinked slowly, and asked in a timid voice, "My parents?"

"I cannot tell you any more than that, I'm afraid. But believe me now, from now until the end of October, train as best as you can. Learn all that you can learn here and now, classes be–," here, Firenze gave a soft smile, "damned. Because once you leave, you will no longer have the resources that you do now. I will write you a note and talk to Madame Pince personally to give you unlimited access to the restricted section of the library. I trust that you will not abuse this privilege." Firenze gave Harry a long stare.

Harry fidgeted slightly under the clear gaze before answering, "No, sir."

Firenze nodded, "Of course, your professors will be concerned at your lack of effort in class, perhaps you might want to work on an alibi or excuse of some sort first. But apart from that, I have told you all that I can. Good luck, Harry Potter!"

Firenze reached out a hand, which Harry took and shook firmly. Harry then picked up his bag and slowly walked to his afternoon classes, thinking about what Firenze had said. He came to the conclusion that he would be going back in time, to the time of his parents, with no way of returning home. After all, the prophecy did state that he was "_born of the present yet lived of the past_", and together with what Firenze said about leaving everything behind and not having the same resources as he would now, it made perfect sense. He decided to take Firenze's advice to learn everything he possibly could and "classes be damned" indeed. He wasn't the Saviour of the World for nothing, after all! His mind made up, his next course of action would be to visit Firenze again after dinner to see when he'd be able to have access to the restricted section of the library.


	2. Preparations, and a Near Potions Disaste...

Author's Notes:  
Wow, you really love it! I wasn't even expecting to get any reviews... after all, the summary was pretty crappy. I had a longer one, but for some reason it got chopped, so I had to make it short.  
Anyway, I had a bit of problem planning this chapter. I really did want Harry to get in trouble for slacking off, haha, but then he'd be in detention lots and that wouldn't accomplish anything, so I went the other way instead. However, he still **did** "slack off" though, by not paying much attention to the teachers...... (?)  
The rest of my author's notes got deleted somehow......?

**NOW EDITED!**

Disclaimer:  
As usual, I own nothing but the plot... mwa hahaaaa the plot bunny is _mine_! This is what happens when you don't get enough sleep.

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Preparations, and a Near Potions Disaster**

Following the first day of classes, Harry threw himself into his studies. His new behavious was commented by all, and at times, even Snape was hard pressed to find faults in Harry's work. The staff and Hermione were delighted, thinking that Harry was finally accepting his responsibilities and was working towards his goals. Ron was horrified and disgusted, believing that Hermione had placed Harry under an Imperius Curse. The only one who knew the real reason for this change was Firenze, and he did all he could to help Harry prepare. Harry, true to his word, paid attention in class only long enough to learn the things he needed, and during any other time furthered his own studies. He frequently lost points for his inattentiveness in class, but paid no heed to it. However, he was careful to study only the subject he was in class for, so every time Snape tried to humiliate him for his lack of attention with a Potions question, Harry could answer it almost each and every time. Snape was begrudgingly impressed.

Any homework that he had, he did to the best of his abilities and more. Any research required found Harry researching down to every side topic available. He was amused to find that at times, his essays exceeded the length of Hermione's, and often even scored much higher than her. This fact he kept to himself, not wishing to depress one of his two best friends. However, when Dumbledore informed him that his Quidditch ban had been lifted, he declined, knowing he would only be there for a few more weeks and wishing to use the time to learn more. Ron had been furious when he found out that Harry chose not to play Quidditch.

"Harry, Harry, did you hear?" Ron was jumping up and down in excitement, "you can play Quidditch again!"

Sighing, Harry closed the book he had been reading, a book on Potions - luckily Ron didn't notice in his excitement or he would've made another nasty comment. Closing his eyes, Harry counted to ten before turning to Ron.

"I know, but I've quit," Harry announced quietly.

Ron, in his excitement, kept rambling on, "with you back as Seeker, and Ginny as a Chaser and me as the Keeper, all we need are a few more players, and we'll have the best team at Hogwarts ever! We'll beat Malfoy without a doubt, after all..."

Harry tuned Ron out. He simply leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes again, waiting for the inevitable that would be Ron exploding in anger. Because they were in the Common Room, everyone with the exception of Ron heard Harry's resignation from Quidditch, and it was a while before Ginny came out of her shock to ask Harry,

"_Why?_"

"I can't tell you," Harry replied without moving.

By then, Ron had calmed down enough to notice the charged atmosphere in the room.

"What do you mean you quit?" Angelina exploded, "you were our best Seeker _ever_ and you say you _quit_? What is wrong with you, Harry, we had a hard enough time without you last year, you can't quit _now_!"

"Harry, mate," Ron said, all traces of his earlier excitement gone, "you're joking, right?" His ears were beginning to turn red.

"No, I mean it, I quit. No more Quidditch for me." _Until I leave and go back in time_, Harry added in his head.

The room fell silent, the calm before the storm, before exploding into arguments. Almost everyone started screaming. There was so much noise that Harry felt the start of a headache forming. After a while, once they've realized that Harry wasn't going to speak anymore, the anger and screaming turned to each other. Fed up, he grabbed his books, shoved everything into his bag, and slipped out of the room unnoticed. The Fat Lady called out after him, concerned about all the noise inside, but he paid her no heed. Instead, he walked down to Firenze's rooms, hoping to find a place where he could study in peace without everyone speculating about his change in behaviour.

Before he even raised his hand, the door opened, inviting him in. Harry stepped into the forest-like room and closed the door gently, not wanting to disturb the centaur However, when he turned aroud, he found blue eyes studying him intently.

"Problems with your friends?" Firenze asked in his soft voice.

"Er - yeah, you can say that." Harry stood in front of the door, unsure of what to do.

"It must be hard," Firenze turned away, "to know that you have limited time with your friends, yet not have the chance to spend every last minute with them. You are more than welcome to study alone in here, I've already set the wards to open for you automatically. I trust that you won't complete destroy my room?"

Blushing, Harry replied, "No, sir."

He worked late into the night, reading, taking notes, and reading some more. Without meaning to, or perhaps it was the atmosphere of the forest, Harry ended up falling asleep, surrounded by his book and a small smile on his face. For the first time in his life, he finally knew what it felt like to have a reasonable goal in mind and work his hardest to achieve it. It was a great feeling, because he knew it was something worth doing, this studying of his, and that it would amount to something at the end. While he loved Quidditch, he was a natural at it, and so didn't need to put as much effort into playing, while this forced him to work hard, allowing him to feel important for his efforts.

Next morning, he woke up under a blanket of leaves. There in front of him was a note from Firenze, saying that he excused Harry by saying that Harry had helped him with a project last night which lasted until the early hours of the morning. Glancing at his watch, Harry saw that he had enough time to go back to his dorms to freshen up before heading down to breakfast and later, classes. With the smile on his face, left over from the night before, he quickly packed up, scribbled a note of thanks to Firenze, and left the room.

Breakfast at the Great Hall was rather subdued. It wasn't until Nearly Headless Nick showed up and recounted last night's activites did Harry finally knew what happened. It turned out that shortly after he left the Common Room, his absence was noticed and the argument escalated even more. People began hexing each other, even though they were all from the same house, and without a regard for age, or even friend or foe. It got so out of hand when Madam McGonagall came in to calm everyone down, she got hit by no less than 13 curses, hexes, and jinxes in a matter of seconds, and a whole 250 points was deducted from the whole house, setting them in last place with little hope for catching up.

When Harry heard that bit of new, guilt twanged in his heart. After all, he hadn't been helping things for all the times he lost points for not paying attention in class, and when he looked up at the gigantic hour glass, he nearly fainted. There, in last place, was Gryffindor at 8 points. Everyone else was up in the mid-200s, with Hufflepuff in the lead with 285. No wonder all the Gryffindors were so down this morning, while rumors were running wild as to how Gryffindor could've lost so many points in one night. Of course, there was always the Slytherins and _Malfoy_.

"Look at that," Malfoy said loudly, "I guess Gryffindors aren't so _golden_ anymore!"

The whole Slytherin burst out laughing, and even the Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs cracked a smile. However, none of the Gryffindors had the heart to retaliate. Harry was madly trying to think of a way to make up for this whole fiasco - after all, he _was_ the main cause behind it, between his inattentiveness in class and his decision not to join the Quidditch team. He was amazed that the rest of the school hadn't picked up on it yet. But of course, he just _had_ to think of it just then.

"So I hear that Potter isn't on the Quidditch team anymore! Perhaps he realized how much of a loser he is, watching all the games last year, or maybe he just can't stand his stinking Weasel anymore!" More laughter from the Slytherins following this second comment from Malfoy.

Harry fumed. But luckily, breakfast ended right then and it was time for classes. As he walked to Hagrid's hut for Care of Magical Creature, doubled with Ravenclaws, he racked his brain for ideas on how to gain back 250 points in as short a time as possible. This time, he paid attention in all his classes, and by lunch time, was relieved to find that the House Points for Gryffindors had rose up to 31. It seemed that the teachers were shocked about the event as well and was trying to help the Gryffindors regain their lost points. Of course, Snape was sneering at the sudden increase of 23 point in just one short morning, and Harry dreaded to go to double Potions following lunch.

As the requirements for Advanced Potions was at such a high level, there was only a handful of students from all houses were registered, thus allowing only one class for all of the sixth years. From Gryffindor, there were only Hermione and Harry, and even Ravenclaw, for their fame in intelligence, only had 4 students. As they all sat down, Harry noticed with some apprehension, a glass ball similar to a Remembrall, except with a black sort of mist swirling inside, sitting on Malfoy's desk. Harry knew, without a doubt, that Malfoy was up to no good in this class. He did not have to wait long to find out exactly what that little glass ball was.

It was nearing the end of class, and everyone was heating up the fire to cause the potion to boil, the last step in the procedure before cooling and bottling. While everyone was waiting, their attentions taken up by their potions for it cannot overboil nor underboil, Malfoy picked up the glass ball. Harry, with his Seeker trained abilities, caught the movement out of the corner of his eye and turned to look. Malfoy was just about to roll the ball to the fire under Hermione's cauldron when Blaise Zabini, a fellow Slythering, turned to grab something from his desk and bumped Malfoy's outstretched hand. Both Malfoy and Harry watched in horror as the glass ball bounced off the stone floor - but didn't break, luckily or unluckily - up a few steps and rolled into the fire underneath Snape's cauldron.

A series of events followed. First was a loud crack signalling the glass breaking from the heat. Next, everyone, including Snape, looked towards the professor's cauldron at the front of the room, where the sound came from. Then was a loud rumbling, followed by Snape's cauldron shaking madly, sloshing the potion inside everywhere. The shaking got worse and worse, and everyone stared in fear, as the cauldron was trembling so bad that it turned into a vibration accompanied by a loud, high-pitched whine. The vibration was so forceful that the cauldron itself began levitating in the air on its own accord. A split second of silence and the cauldron stopped vibrating, only to drop back on the fire, where a murky, black mist could be see ebbing out. Harry pulled out his wand and muttered a Banishing Spell just a fraction of a second after the whole fire, mist, cauldron, and potion exploded. A loud crack of thunder-like noise sounded and everyone was thrown back before everything disappeared into the void that Harry had created.

Silence, as nobody dared to move. Professor Snape quickly took advantage of the fear and scanned the room. Malfoy, who had frozen in fear after being bumped by Zabini, had the incriminating evidence of his hand still held out as if to drop or roll a small item. Harry, on the other hand, had his wand pointed at where Snape's cauldron had been. Snape knew a Banishing Spell when he saw one, and immediately, he knew what had happened.

"**What**," Snape snarled, causing everyone to jump in fright and turn their gazes towards him, "was the meaning of this, _Malfoy_?"

Everyone was shocked, Snape had _never_ called on Malfoy for any wrong-doings before.

"What _possessed_ you to bring in Detonball into Potions class?"

Snape stalked towards the blond. Malfoy visibly paled and cowered down. No one, not even Harry when he had looked into Snape's pensieve, had seen the professor this mad. But then again, a look into memories wasn't as dangerous as the potential of the whole castle exploding from the dungeons. A Detonball was dangerous enough with a small fire, and could cause reasonable damage at the temperature the fire was set at for the last boil, but Snape wasn't working on the same potion as the class. Rather, it was a highly complicated potion requiring lots of expensive ingredients as well as time, and the fire that he had under the cauldron was several time higher than that of the students.

As Malfoy could offer no reasonable excuse, Snape continued, "For your pure _stupidity_, Malfoy, you are suspended from this class for a _month_, during which time you will report to Filch during every Potions class, plus a detention with me every night of the month starting at 8! _Is that understood?!_"

Malfoy nodded, looking like the ferret that he was turned into by Mad-Eye Moody in fourth year.

"Well? What are you waiting for? _**Get out of my sight!!!**_"

Malfoy scrambled out of the classroom, not bothering with his books and bag.

"And _you_, Potter!"

Harry stiffened, gripping his wand even tighter.

Snape had a most peculiar expression on his face, it looked like a cross between a twisted smile, a grimace, and a look of abject horror.

Sighing, Snape ran a hand through his hair and muttered under his breath, "150 points for your fast reaction and spectacular Banishing Spell."

No one dared to speak - _Snape_ had just _awarded_ points to Gryffindor, and to _Potter_ no less!

"Clean up, pack up, and get out. All of your potions are ruined by now." With that said, Snape turned abruptly and disappeared into the storage room.

Everyone breathed a collective sigh of relief and proceeded to clean and pack up. Most of them couldn't wait to get out of the dungeons and tell their friends what had happened. _Snape_ of all people awarded points to _Harry_! And 150 points at that!

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End Notes:  
Well that turned out better than I first imagined! Heh, I generally start off with a vague idea, then let the writing itself flow out. I wasn't expecting to take 250 points of Gryffindor, but it worked out nicely in that I "forced" Snape to be fair for once and give points to Harry. Haha, after all, if your worst enemy saved a whole school (castle) from blowing up, well, I'd think that you'd be really nice to them, even if it was only for a minute or so. Hope you liked this chapter - and I better go finish my homework, heh. Got struck by the sudden inspiration, and if you don't write immediately, it'll leave, so I thought I might as well lose some more sleep...  
Please **read & review**!!! 


	3. Hallowe'en

Author's Note:  
Yay, finally finished it. While you, my dear readers, were impatient for Harry to go back in time... well I, as the author, _was impatient as well!!!_ Of course, I needed to get through this "crud" before I can send poor Harry off. Yes, _poor_ Harry, he'll suffer much in the next chapter... -grin semi-madly-.  
Hope you like this chapter as well! I'm thinking I should slow down with my writing a bit, after all, I've got lots of homework and final exams are in 3 weeks' time. Hmm...  
Well, enjoy!  
Oh yeah, I wasn't sure exactly _where_ Harry's scar was located, so I made it the right side of his forehead. Well, it'll become relevent later, if you can't guess after this chapter. I also took liberty in some other aspects of Hogwarts and people that weren't described in the books.

**NOW EDITED!**

Disclaimer:  
As usual, the plot bunny is mine... (he's grey, in case you were wondering). And... I suppose the person at the end is "sort of" mine.

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**Hallowe'en**

"News travelled fast in Hogwarts" did not even come_ close_ to describing it. Before class had even formally ended, the _entire_ school knew that Malfoy had been suspended from Potions for a month and that Harry had gained 150 points in one sitting - both actions done by Snape himself. However, most did not know of the events leading up to these unbelieveable outcomes, but most didn't care. After all, they were too busy saying to each other, '_Snape_?! **Never**!'

Less than 24 hours had passed since the big "Quidditch argument" in the Gryffindor Common Room and already, they were well on their way to replacing their lost points. Harry found himself forgiven for being the cause of the whole argument - for which he was thankful - but not for quitting Quidditch. He was relieved of the guilt that had been plaguing him since breakfast that morning. Ron found himself pounding Harry on the back for getting Malfoy suspended - although really, it was Zabini's doing - before remembering 10 minutes later that he was supposed to be mad at Harry for dropping out of the team. By then, it was too late, he was too delighted at Malfoy's downfall to dig up his previous anger.

As for Snape? For his part in the whole fiasco, he had to endure all the staff's teasing for the rest of the day and even for weeks afterwards. He had no wish to reaccount the events and suffered in silence over his once-in-a-lifetime fair deed. On the other hand, he retaliated by deducting points from the other 3 houses even more, so much so that Harry stopped his extra studies during Potions class and listened, for fear of finding Snape in a bad mood and thus, allowing him to take back the points he had given.

Unfortunately, for both Harry and Snape, Dumbledore ordered that Occlumency lessons resume. The Headmaster purposefully misinterpreted Snape's award of points to Harry as a change of heart and cheerfully asked - demanded, really - that Snape continue with the lessons. Neither were happy with the arrangement, but both tolerated it. In fact, Snape was amazed - mind you, he'd poison himself before admitting this - at Harry's improvement in Occlumency. As people say, fear is the best motivation, and what Harry feared most was that Snape would learn about the prophecy and put a stop to the whole thing. Every time a memory of Firenze came up, Harry would successfully push Snape out of his mind, and before neither knew it, Harry had completely mastered Occlumency. Of course, Snape had noticed the frequent occurance of the "Firenze memory" and tried, in many ways, to force it out of Harry, but to no avail.

Weeks went by, and while the excitement over the "Potions incident" had died down, it was still a big story being told over and over again. Malfoy was finally allowed back in Potions class, much subdued. No one had been able to find out what sort of detentions he served for Snape, but everyone knew that he had been stuck washing trophies, floors, and even _washrooms_ for his detention with Filch. Even worse, he had not been able to track down Harry to seek revenge, and Harry wisely chose to carry around his Invisibility Cloak and Marauder's Map, using the latter to avoid Malfoy as much as possible and the former when that plan failed. Despite all this, Malfoy didn't dare to try anything else in Potions class, and unfortunately for him, that was the only class they shared.

Before anyone knew it, it was soon Hallowe'en. In order to keep a happy atmosphere in the school, Dumbledore decided to hold a Hallowe'en Ball instead of a feast, the first in Hogwarts' history. Everyone was excited over the ball, as they, including the teachers, to Snape's chagrin, were all required to adopt the Muggle tradition of dressing up as something or someone. Everyone was happily trading ideas or guarding their own jealously and making guesses as to who or what their best friends are dressing up as.

The whole school, with the exception of Filch, was in high anticipation for the ball. They were allowed to use magic to transfigure or conjure the necessary items for their costume. The younger students had a choice of asking the teachers or the upper years for help in making their costumes, but some decided to do it Muggle-style, to make it by hand. Orders for cloths, sewing supplies, jewelry, and whatnot cluttered up the Owl Post to the school, and got so bad that Professor McGonagall took it into her own hands and started a temporary "costume store", selling transfigured or conjured items, with all proceeds going to St. Mungo's.

Harry was caught in a dilemma - he did not know if he would be here for the ball. Ever since the "Potions incident", a feeling of dread had been building inside, increasing day by day. Finally, he decided that he would only spend time designing his costume - he chose to be a Muggle monster from some movie he had watched in primary school - and tranfigure it from an old sock or other just before the ball. After all, he had learned enough about Tranfigurations that he was sure he could pull off easily.

Perhaps it was that feeling of dread, or perhaps the reality - even though it still seemed very surreal to Harry - had finally kicked in, Harry was starting to panic. While it was very self-satisfying to be studying and working on his own, he really did missed Ron and Hermione's company, and the rest of the Gryffindor gang, of course. He also realized, after receiving a new "testers required" package, that he wouldn't have any more joke shop products from Fred and George. He decided to slow down his studies just to spend time with them, and even made an appearance during a Quidditch practice, to the enjoyment of the whole team. (Ginny had been made Seeker again.) Most were glad to have the old Harry back again, even if he was still too Ravenclaw-ish for their liking!

Hallowe'en dawned bright and clear, as Harry woke up with the sun in his eyes. The night before, he had been sitting with Ron and Hermione in the Common Room until late in the night, simply chatting and doing a bit of homework. His dreadful feeling had gotten even worse, prohibiting him from concentrating on any useful activities, until he finally gave up and joined Ron in a game of Wizard's Chess. When they finally headed off to bed, Harry had spent some time simply sitting on his bed, appreciating the clear, starry night. He fell asleep without closing the curtain, and now, at 5:30 in the morning - Harry had glanced at his watch and moaned - he was blasted wide awake by the dawning sun. Sighing, he got up, wanting to spend some time with Hedwig in the Owlery before going down for a very early breakfast.

He took his time in the shower and getting changed, loving the privacy he had without having a roommate. It was 6:30 by the time he left Gryffindor tower and headed towards the Owlery. On the way there, he met no one, not even any ghosts nor Peeves nor Mrs. Norris. It was until he walkd through the Owlery door did he realize something different - his feeling of dread was gone, replaced by a strange tingling in his stomach. Harry was so shocked that he just stood there in front of the door for a full 10 or so minutes before Hedwig became unpatient and flew down to his shoulder. He smile and scratched her on her back while she nibbled on his ear, looking for owl treats.

Strolling over to the window, he pulled himself up on to the ledge and sat there, simply appreciating the beautiful day. It wouldn't last long, winter was on its way, occasionally coming out and nipping everyone with its cold breath. He lost track of time sitting there, enjoying a rare moment of contentment with life and the world; during that time, nothing apart from the rising sun, the soft hooting of the owls and the beautiful weather outside mattered.

Harry broke out of his reverie, said goodbye to Hedwig and all the owls inside, before going down to the Great Hall. He sat down in his seat, so early that there were only a handful of people inside, and proceeded to eating, slowly enjoying every bite of his meal. The contentment from the Owlery earlier had not faded, and he still felt at peace with the whole world. It was a while before Ron and Hermione joined him, both of whom were startled to find that he was already there. Breakfast eaten, last minute gossip and guesses on everyone's Hallowe'en costumes said, it was time for class. Unbeknownst to everyone in the school, something that would send the whole school into hysterics.

It was about 10 minutes before lunch when Hagrid dismissed his Care of Magical Creatures class a little early to give them extra time to get back into the castle to clean up after a particularly messy lesson. There was a tiny sizzling sound followed shortly by an explosion out in the middle of the grounds, scaring the fourth year Hufflepuffs and Gryffindors on their way back to the castle. They turned towards the source of the noise and received a great shock. In a spot that was empty just mere seconds ago stood a man surrounded by faint traces of smoke. It was fairly common knowledge that Apparation was impossible on Hogwarts grounds due to the wards, yet there was no other way to explain how this man came to be here. Even so, Apparation only made a loud crack, not sizzling and explosions, so how _did_ this person get here when Hogwarts is one of the safest places in the world?

"Yeh there," Hagrid bellowed, "jus' who do yeh think yeh 'ah?"

The stranger turned, revealing a scar down the right side of his face - from his hairline through his eye down to his jaw line. His eyes - a bright green - sparkled mischievously because he knew the exact reason for everyone's surprise. His hair was raven black, but directly above his scar was a streak of white. Not very tall, coming ony to about 5'9", he carried himself lithely and possessed an aura of great physical strength, despite his seemingly thin body covered by a dark green travelling cloak. This was someone that nobody had heard or seen pictures of, and without a doubt, rumors and speculations would be all over the school, especially since lunch in the Great Hall was only some minutes away.

Hagrid, who had been strolling towards the stranger, abruptly stopped and dropped his jaw in surprise when the stranger turned. The two stood there, staring at each other - the stranger in amusement, Hagrid in shock - while the students darted their eyes between the two adults and whispered to each other. For a long minute, neither moved, yet in no time at all, Hagrid took a wobbly step forwards and held out a shaky hand.

"Darron?" Hagrid's shaky whispered carried over to everyone by the wind.

"Hiya, Hagrid!" The stranger, Darron, grinned, his voice a soft baritone that sounded very familiar.

"Darron!" Hagrid bellowed again, this time in joy as he rushed forwards to embrace Darron in a giant hug.

"Hagrid, down!" Darron joked laughingly, "I didn't come back for you to kill me!"

The two friends laughed heartily as they swept towards the castle, leaving the fourth years behind, frozen in shock and mouths agaping. It wasn't until the unlikely pair reached the doors to the castle did they begin to run at full speed, wishing to be the first to supply any information and rumors as to who the stranger was. By the time they all staggered through the front doors, the two were already halfway down the Entrance Hall, the only people talking as the rest of the school coming down for lunch fell in silence at the sight. Just who was this handsome, yet scary looking man? It seemed that the rest of the student body knew no more than what the Hufflepuffs and Gryffindors had witnessed outside. Was he a graduate of Hogwarts? It was likely, since both he and Hagrid seemed to be on very good terms.

"What brings yeh 'ere, Darron?" the two had reached the top of the stairs leading to the doors to the Great Hall and had paused.

"Well," Darron ran a hand through his hair, which hung just slightly past his shoulders in a messy, yet elegant way, "I've actually came to find someone."

"Who?"

Everyone was hanging on to every single word in the conversation. It was the first time the whole Entrance Hall had been this quiet with the amount of people in it.

"Harry Potter," Darron stated, immediately followed by a collective gasp from everyone. He looked around, amused, eyes still sparkling, this time with suppressed laughter.

Hagrid appeared to notice the students just now. Placing a gentle hand on Darron's shoulder - but still made him stumble forward - he guided Darron towards the door ahead, with a quiet comment that everyone would be in the Great Hall for lunch and thus, would enable him to find Harry with little trouble. As soon as they disappeared through the doors, a stampede started as all tried to rush in at once to catch more interaction between the two. However, they were only standing a little ways in, Darron staring at the enchanged ceiling with a touch of melancholy on his face, and the students were forced to take their seats at the tables. They didn't have to wait long, because Dumbledore soon came into the room and his face lighted up in recognition and joy at seeing Darron.

"Darron!"

Dumbledore swept down the Hall, arms open in anticipation to embrace the visitor, but before Dumbledore reached him, Darron turned to the Gryffindor table and placed a calloused hand on Harry's shoulder.

"Harry Potter!" The name rolled off his tongue, laced with heavy wistfulness, "just the one I'm looking for!"

Harry simply looked up, bewildered. The sandwich in his hand forgotten and fell into his lap with a plop.

"Come, stand, there's something I must give you!" Darron patted his shoulder in reassurance.

"Who - what -" Harry stammered as he stood up.

Darron draped a silver chain with a sundial attached over Harry's head. He then held out a pearly while marble-like object and dropped it to Harry's palm. Harry accepted it without a word, completely nonplussed.

"That," Darron said, pointing at the marble, "is a recorded message which will be activated as soon as you activate that." This time, he pointed at the sundial necklace around Harry's neck.

"How do you activate this, then?" Harry lifted up the sundial with his other hand, frowning in puzzlement.

An amused grin appeared on Darron's face. "Like this," he said, pulling out his wand. Placing his hand under Harry's and lifting the pendent even higher, he tapped the sundial once with his wand and whispered, "_tempus_!" A sucking noise, like water running down a drain, sounded and Harry disappeared. Darron's grin grew even bigger as the Hall erupted into screams.

"What did you _do_?" Dumbledore stared, horrified.

Chuckling at the rarely seen emotion on Dumbledore's face, Darron stated quietly, "I have completed the prophecy."

* * *

**Review please!** Comments, constructive criticism, and suggestions wanted!


	4. Time Warp

Author's Notes:  
Some of you guys' guesses are very much correct! Although, I won't say what, because that'll just ruin my fun...! -evil grin- To be quite honest with you, I have no idea how long this story will be. Like I've said before, I've got a (very) few definite events that I want to happen, and everything else in-between are just... not thought out yet!  
I know the previous 3 chapters weren't written too well, but I _was_ impatient in wanting to get to the past, so it might seem that some things just haven't been described enough... maybe when I finish the story, I'll go back and re-do the first 3 chapters or something. Ah, who knows.  
A hint to you, re-read the prophecy. It tells you more than you think! wink I'll include it just before the story. But just to clear up a few things, yes, Darron and Harry is the same person, which is why I'm not sure how "disclaimer-wise", things will work out.

**NOW EDITED!**

Disclaimer:  
As usual, I own nothing, except maybe the name "Darron" and the changes I make to him. Of course, the plot bunny is still mine, he - she? - is currently munching happily away on grass in the backyard. -grin-

"_The Saviour of the World is not who he seems. Born of the present yet lived of the past, he will return to guide his own self. Neither Light nor Dark, he is his own counsel. Upon his return, he must choose, and it is from these choices that his and his enemy's fate will be decided._"

* * *

**Time Warp**

It was extremely distorting. One second, he was standing in the Great Hall, interrupted just when he started eating, and the next, he found himself in limbo. There was no other way to describe it, darkness stretching out in every direction. It wasn't forboding nor depressing nor anything; it was void of any emotions or things, whether physical or otherwise. It was the oddest place that Harry had ever been in.

Suddenly, the marble object in his hand flashed and warmed, pulsating lightly. Startled, Harry opened his hand and the tiny ball floated away. He only noticed then that he was floating in this void-like environmet as well. Did he get banished or something? On that line of thought, he suddenly started worrying about the potion Snape had be working on last month and Malfoy's Detonball. None of the books had been too clear as to _where_ things disappear to when one casts a Banishing Spell. A voice sounded from the marble, ending his train of thoughts.

"_So, the prophecy finally ends for me, and begins for you,_" the marble flashed in synchronation with the words. From the few sentences that Harry had heard, he was sure that it was Darron's voice.

"_The Saviour of the World is not who he seems. Born of the present yet lived of the past, he will return to guide his own self. Neither Light nor Dark, he is his own counsel. Upon his return, he must choose, and it is from these choices that his and his enemy's fate will be decided._" Darron - was it really him in the future, Harry wondered - restated the prophecy. After all, returning to guide his own self, it made perfect sense

"_You know my name is Darron, but nothing else._" A quiet chuckle followed. "_I remember this all too well, but I better not tell you too much. After all, it's much more fun to do things on your own, rather than follow someone else's orders._

"_Now, the rest of your background, you can make up. As far as I'm concerned, you can call yourself Darron Malfoy,_" soft laughter again, "_or even Evans or Black or Lupin! Mind you, I don't recommend it, best to choose something that nobody has heard of. When you finally get out of this limbo, you'll be arriving on July 31 of your parents' sixth year._ A/N: Not too sure how years are working, since even though each of the Harry Potter books is of one school year, they haven't been coming out every year, and I prefer to leave it in general rather than specify years for things.

"_Technically, because it was Oct 31 when you left, that'd move your birthday back to April 31 instead... but April doesn't have 31 days. It's up to you if you want to change your birthday completely, it's just a date anyway._

"_Er - I don't know what else to tell you. Just relax, have fun, there's no one out to get you here, you can finally relax now. Go ahead and be an idiot, date as many people as you want, since there's no Rita Skeeter here either, thank Merlin! You are just another student attending Hogwarts, under very strange circumstances, mind you._

"_Ah, yes, one last thing - _get ready!_ I'm really sorry, but it's gonna hurt!_"

With that, the marble give a giant bright flash, overwhelming the darkness of the void. Harry felt himself falling at a fast rate. Before he had a chance to act, the ground slammed into his face, knocking the breath out of him. He laid there, wheezing for a while, unable to hear anything else over the ringing in his ears from the impact. Finally, the pain subsided enough that he could turn over on to his back and he did.

The first - and only - thing he saw was a mass of black furry legs with sharp claws on the end. Horrified, he could only stare as the whole thing reared up. Time seemed to slow down as he watched one of the claws descend towards his face. The last thing he remembered was the claw cutting down the right side of his head as everything exploded in a flash of red and black, and intense pain.

The sound of hoofs drew closer, drowning out the screams of the creature Harry had disturbed in his fall. A young centaur galloped in through the trees - a centaur-child, really; he had white-blond hair and a palomino body. Taking a quick look at the scene in front of him, his pale sapphire-like eyes widened in fright. Without another thought, he leaped towards the body of the man lying face down on the ground. Deftly avoiding the creature's many legs, which were busy tearing apart the stranger's robes, he managed to grab the human under his arms and dragged him out of danger.

Once it was clear that the creature wasn't going to chase after them, the centaur set the body down for a better look. Gasping at the amound of blood coming from the person's face, he looked around and ripped out various herbs from the forest floor. Grinding it into a paste in his hand, he smeared it all over the stranger's face and cast the strongest healing spell he knew. He then threw the human around his back and secured the body by tying it down with vines before galloping at top speed out of the Forbidden Forest. Bursting out of the trees, he headed for a small wooden house just off to the side.

"Hagrid! Hagrid!" the young centaur cried out in alarm, "Help!"

The door to the hut flew open, and a black boarhound, Fang, flew out. Hagrid bursted out of the house and began running towards the centaur, a large crossbow and arrows hung across his shoulders.

"Whassa matter?"

"Human... hurt..." panted the centaur, skidding to a halt as they drew close.

"Who-?" Hagrid frowned in puzzlement before realizing that the young man tied on the centaur's back was bleeding in torrents everywhere. "Let's get ter the castle, Firenze! Hurry, we've no time ter lose!"

Firenze was about to start when Hagrid added in a worried tone, "Yeh won't be missed, will yeh? I'd hate ter..."

"No, I'll be fine, Hagrid, they'll probably think I've wandered of and got myself tangled in some Death Trap Vine or other," Firenze gave a small, fleeting smile before rushing off towards the castle. Hagrid lumbered behind.

By the time all three - Hagrid, Firenze, and the unconcious Harry - reached the castle, the doors were already open and a small group of teachers stood just inside, concerned. Upon seeing all the blood on Firenze's back, everyone quickly ran to the hospital wing, hoping it wasn't too late for the young man.

"Hurry!" Madam Pomfrey called out, waving her wand at the bed closest to the doors.

The resident mediwitch grabbed a pair of scissors and hastily cut off the vines holding the young man to Firenze's back. Levitating him to the bed, she nodded in approval at Firenze's hurried nursing and added her own spells to the wound. Shooing everyone out of the way, she drew the curtains shut and undressed Harry and changing him into a hospital gown. Casting a Cleansing Spell, she saw that the injury consisted of just one single but long and deep wound from the hairline down to the jawline, running through his right eye. She could only pray for the best.

Doing a quick check-up spell, she gasped at her findings. This young man, no older than 16, had had Unforgivables cast on him, not to mention numerous other less harmful but still dangerous jinxes, hexes, and curses! Just who is this unbelievable young man? Madam Pomfrey could only guess.

The instant she stepped out, she was surrounded by the rest of the staff. Nodding at Firenze, she told him that the patient is now in a stable condition before casting a Cleansing Spell to get rid of the blood and sent him off before he was missed from his herd. After the young centaur had left, she reported her findings to the crowd. Everyone was shocked. While waiting for Madam Pomfrey to do her work, they had got the story from Firenze, of how the creature, a Mumbliar, suddenly screamed and when he went to investigate, had found the human.

Mumbliars, furry black creatures with no distinctive features other than their many legs, were easily frightened and attack viciously in that state. Also, their claws had fast acting, deadly poisons which could kill a victim in a matter of seconds. Because of this, they resided deep in the middle of the Forbidden Forest, where they would cause least harm as possible. How had this young man appear so suddenly in the middle of the dangerous forest, and why had he been subjected to the amount of spells he had, and Unforgivables, too!?

Unable to do anything else but to wait and let the poison run its course while hoping for the best, the professors left one by one, after taking a brief glance at the man in bed. At this stage, it was too early to tell just how much damage the poison would do.

* * *

End Notes:  
I should just stop writing notes at the start... lol. Anyway, some of the descriptions of Firenze, I took directly from book 1. I don't have the 2 companion books on hand (I really do wish I have Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them is that the title? for a reference, but I guess I'll be ok...). I don't know any thing about centaurs, according to HP world, and I just made up that funky monster/creature and the "Death Trap Vines".  
Once again, please **read & review**! And a major thanks to everyone who had reviewed so far! They encourage me to write more! Luv ya guys! -wink- 


	5. Who am I?

Author's Notes:  
**Never **again! I'm never spending 12 hours at an amusement park ever again when I have school the next day! Jeez, I was so out of it (on Monday), thankfully, the classes weren't the "hardcore" classes. Still, Disneyland was fun, I'm glad I went and I'm glad I stayed for the Illumination Parade and the fireworks (for all that it was 5 minutes long, haha). My feet and legs still sorta hurts from all that walking.  
So, one of my dear reviewers don't want Harry - er, Darron - to be in Slytherin? Hmm, to be honest, I haven't quite thought all of that out yet. I mean, I do want him in a specific house, but wasn't sure how it would all work out, because... well. Can't give away the plot, now can I?  
I've typos? I don't doubt it, chapter 3 was the only one I read through before I uploaded it, heh. Oops, I'll go back and edit them all. Some time in the future.....

**NOW EDITED!**

Disclaimer:  
Someone said that my plot bunny needs feeding. Now, where'd that silly rabbit run off to?! Aha, I see you, little blue fluff-ball! Yes, blue, my plot bunny is blue (I saw a music video once, where there was a poor bunny with its fur dyed blue!)... -hem hem- (hee hee, couldn't resist)  
As usual, I own none of the characters, I suppose I can claim to own the changes I did to Harry, as well as his new name Darron.

* * *

**Who am I?**

It was another two weeks before Harry finally rejoined the real world. Thanks to Firenze's fast reaction, the majority of the poison was neutralized, leaving only a tiny portion left that was still potent. Unfortunately, that tiny bit was enough to knock poor Harry out for such a long period of time. The only side effect was that the wound would permanently scar, and while his hair grew back - it turned out that the claw had caught him on the top of his head - it would be colourless forever. He was also lucky in that he didn't lose his eyesight, the claw somehow miraculously missed gouging his eyeball out. However, studying his visage in the mirror, Harry decided that he liked his new look very much. His lightning bolt scar blended perfectly with the new one, and with the white streak of hair, he looked much different from his old self.

He never thought that he'd be glad for Madam Pomfrey's insistence on staying in the hospital wing while he slowly recovered. It gave him more time to make up a story about himself, such as how he ended up in the middle of the Forbidden Forest. Shuddering at the memory of all those furry legs and claws, Harry could now see why Malfoy panicked whenever he had to go inside the forest. Yet, even this accident couldn't repel him forever, as he soon found himself wishing to see Firenze after being informed that the centaur was his saviour. Twenty or so years ago, what did the centaur look like back then?

Harry still had trouble grasping the concept that his "present" is now the "past". Sometimes, his mind was simply overwhelmed by the confusion of a circular timeline. Rather than crack his sanity on the whole concept, he decided to settle on making up little things and pretending that he couldn't remember the rest due to amnesia. First off was his name: Darron needed a family name. Obviously, being his parents' sixth year, he couldn't use any names that he was familiar with for fear of questions, nor did he want to use the names of people who were at Hogwarts while Harry Potter was in attendence, it just seemed too risky.

Ultimately, after three days of being stuck in a bed, he was fed up and frustrated, and decided that he only remembered two things: his first name was Darron, and he would be in sixth year come September. Most of August had passed before Dumbledore, who was still - already - Headmaster of Hogwarts, came to visit him.

"My dear boy," Albus started, "would you like a sherbert lemon?"

Harry - Darron - forcefully shoved his amusement to a dusty corner in his head and schooled his face into puzzlement, thanking the fact that he had managed to master Occlumency before he ended up here in the past.

"Er - a what?"

"A sherbert lemon!" Dumbledore answered cheerfully, his eyes twinkling, "it's a Muggle sweet."

"Er, no thanks, uh-" Harry - no, Darron! he had to get used to it - trailed off, feigning ignorance at Dumbledore's identity.

"Oh, right, how forgetful of me!" Dumbledore popped a sweet into his mouth, "I'm Albus Dumbledore, Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. That's where you are now, by the way, in the hospital wing, to be exact. And you must be...?"

"Er, Darron, I think."

"You think?" Dumbledore frowned, "what can you remember?"

"Er, I'm going into sixth year?"

"Hmm," Dumbledore was lost in thought - there was a high possibility that the poison could've erased or blocked the boy's memories. "Anything else?"

"No..."

"Well that settles it!" Dumbledore cried out, "you'll join us at this school then! All we need to do is get you some supplies, figure out which classes you'll be taking, and everything will be all set!"

Darron merely gaped, Dumbledore had changed from one mood to another so fast that it was eerie. But then, that only served to strengthen the rumors that the Headmaster himself is barking mad. Regardless, he was relieved, it hadn't been too hard persuading Dumbledore to let him attend Hogwarts. However, he didn't have any money on him...

"Er," Darron stammered, not sure how to voice his concern.

"Oh, if you're worried about money, don't," Dumbledore waved him off, "everything will be just fine. Now, if that's everything-" Harry nodded. "You just relax and get some rest. I do believe Poppy, Madam Pomfrey for you, will be releasing you from the hospital some time after lunch today. I must be off then, to prepare a guest room for you until school starts!"

With a cheerful farewell, Dumbledore swept out of the room, leaving Darron to his thoughts. He was going to be re-Sorted! But would he stay in Gryffindor, or be put into a different house? Thinking back on his own Sorting 5 years ago - or rather, 10-plus years in the future - he had nearly been put in Slytherin. Would he be able to cope if that happened now?

After spending a long time contemplating the new twist of events in his life, he gave up. Whatever happened would happen, and worrying about it wouldn't make it any better or worse. He would just have to take things one at a time, the first being... his wand was gone, probably broken by the creature - he had learned, when he first awoke, that he had been attacked by a Mumbliar - since he was told that he arrived with nothing but his clothes minus his school robes. Just as well, too, because the professors would question him relentlessly if he had his Gryffindor school robes on.

Some time later, after a quick lunch - being stuck in bed for the past two, almost three, weeks decreased his appetite. Professor McGonagall then came to pick him up, after transfiguring some clothes for him to change into, since the ones he had been wearing was blood-soaked and torn to shreds when Firenze carried him out of the forest at top speed. He was given a tour of the school, feigning ignorance again, before being deposited in his temporary lodgings. Just a small room with a bed, study table, and a fireplace, it was nice and cozy, even though he'd only be staying there for 10 days.

Dinner was held in the staff room. Some of the teachers he already knew from his time in the future, and others, he didn't. He was staring keenly at Professor Kentflech, the Potions professor, and Professor Sinadell, the Defense professor and Head of Slytherin house. Snape had made such a big impression - however bad - in his life that he was having a hard time imaging anyone else teaching Potions. Although, Kentflech seemed quite nice; he - a stooped old man with white hair - had greeted Darron with a smile when they were introduced to each other. Professor Sinadell - a young witch with dark red hair and dark blue eyes - on the other hand, seemed rather distant and cold. And of course, Hagrid was delighted to see that he had survived the attack and gave him such a tight hug that Darron thought his ribs would crack.

Dumbledore announced just before starting dinner that McGonagall was going to accompany him to Diagon Alley tomorrow, via floo powder, and that after dinner, the three of them were going to sit together and decide which courses he would be taking, so he would know which books to buy. Dinner itself was a quiet affair, no doubt Dumbledore had spread the news that he had lost his memories. However, Hagrid chatted with him eagerly, especially when Darron expressed an interest in Firenze and centaurs in general, as well as the Mumbliars.

Darron was later found in the Headmaster's office, together with Dumbledore and McGonagall. The three of them were pouring over the curriculums of the different classes, and Darron "tried" to remember what he knew and didn't know to figure out which classes he should take. Finally, with suggestions from the two professors, he settled on Defence Against the Dark Arts, Transfiguration, Charms, Care of Magical Creatures - another class with a different professor since Hagrid didn't take on the position until Harry's third year, Herbology, and Potions.

Once everything was decided - Darron was to be re-sorted at the Welcoming Feast - he returned to his room. However, it was still rather early, and the sun hadn't full set yet, so he left again, intending to go to the library to see if he could borrow some books to read to kill time. However, when he passed by the school broom closet, he stopped. Looking up and down at the empty hallway, Darron decided that reason could hang itself and he grabbed a broom and quickly ran out of the castle. Once outside, he immediately leaped on and zoomed off into the sky. It had been too long since he last flew, and now, he almost regretted not joining the Gryffindor Quidditch team back when he could. Feeling the wind caress his face as he flew, he breathed a sigh of happiness, even the mediocre school brooms couldn't dampen his mood. However, his joy was stopped short.

"Mr... Darron!" a voice called out, "who gave you permission to use the school brooms?"

Harry turned in mid-dive and looked - it was Madam Hooch, and she looked furious. Suddenly, his foolhardiness caught up with his conscience. As usual, he acted before he thought out all the coinsequence. This line of thinking reminded of Snape, how he was always accused of his "constant disregard for rules" by the highly disliked professor. It was easy to guess what happened next, he was no longer Darron, but Harry Potter once again, and Harry Potter missed everyone back "home", especially his best friends Ron and Hermione. It was with this melancholic mood that Harry flew back down to the ground.

"Mr... Darron."

Here, Harry winced inwardly and put his shields back up again, reverting back to Darron. Madam Hooch saw the upset expression on the young man's face and softened. After all, it must be hard to not be able to remember even your own name, as strange as it might be to call someone in such a situation.

"It's not that you can't use the school brooms, but please inform a professor if you wish to go flying. After all, it's not safe to be flying alone, in case of any accidents," she paused, giving Darron a linger look, "although, I doubt you'll have much problems in the air, you are a very advanced flier. I dare say that you'll be wanting to join the Quidditch teams here at the school?"

"Of course, professor!" Darron grinned, "and, er - can I fly right now?"

Madam Hooch looked thoughtful for a brief second before agreeing, "you must be wanting some exercise after being stuck in the hospital for the last 20 days. Seeing as how I have nothing important to do at the moment, I shall accompany you!" She pulled out her wand and summoned her own broom.

Darron's grin grew wider and he watched the professor's broom come bursting out of the castle doors. It reminded him of the first task in the Triwizard Tournament in his - no, _Harry's_ - fourth year, as well as Fred and George's big escape from Umbridge's clutches during fifth year. Stopping his train of thoughts before depression could strike again, he mounted his own broom and flew off, Madam Hooch soon following his actions.

A few hours later, a thoroughly windswept Darron staggered into his room. He took a quick shower to wash the sweat off his body before hitting the bed. His last thought was that his first real day in the past hadn't been so bad.

* * *

End Notes:  
Well... sorry for the delay, but I finally finished it! Yay... It was a bit of a boring chapter. Next one would be Darron in Diagon Alley, buying his supplies... hm, should I have him run into people he knows from his time as Harry? Perhaps Lucius, or even the Marauders... hmm.... My plot bunny needs feeding, _suggestions, please!!!_  
Right, you know the drill, please **read & review**!  
And now, I need sleep... for the past 4 nights, I haven't went to bed any earlier than midnight, and it's currently 11:30pm for me. Yikes, I'll be tired again tomorrow... -sigh- Night, everyone, sweet dreams! Zzz.... 


	6. Diagon Alley

Author's Notes:  
A treat for ya'll! I just saw HP3 in the theatre, so I thought that since I'm in such a good mood (loved that movie) I might as well give everyone else a treat as well and finish up chapter 6! Awesome movie, hilarious start as well, it's different enough from the book that you're not sure what happens next even though you've read it. Hee hee... I might possibly go see it a second time, with a friend, and hopefully better seats (got stuck in 2nd row up front) and then we can immediately launch into a major discussion afterwards or something, lol.  
Right, so I didn't get much reviews for my last chappie... was it really _that_ boring? -wink- I know, not the most exciting of chapters, but it needed to be written and out of the way. Oh well, I'll still keep on with this story even if everyone stops reviewing, simply because I'm challenging myself to write a long piece... My longest was only 16 or so pages typed on Microsoft Word. I have no idea how long this one is, since I did it all (save chapter 1) using QuickEdit rather than on Word.  
Enjoy, everyone, and _please_, **read & review**!

**NOW EDITED!**

Disclaimer:  
My plot bunny didn't get much feeding, guys, only a couple of you gave suggestions as to who Darron (aka Harry) should meet in Diagon Alley, so... ah well. Likewise, I own nothing but the name Darron (is it a real name, per chance?), the plot, and... right, the "new" professors.

* * *

**Diagon Alley**

The 21st of August dawned gloomy and cloudy. Darron spent a few minutes wondering whether it rains in Diagon Alley or not before finally pulling himself out of bed. As he slowly dressed, he began to think of serious concerns. First of all, there was the fact that he would be starting school soon, and with people he knew as adults. His parents and their friends, Snape - he grimaced slightly at that thought - as well as people he knew or heard of in the Ministry.

It was no use worrying, he finally decided. Glancing at the clock, he noted that it was time for breakfast and made his way to the staffroom. Halfway there, Darron wondered if he should get himself "lost", remembering how it took him and Ron a whole week before they could make it down to the Great Hall without getting lost even once. He was saved from needing to make his decision by Professor McGonagall walking towards him.

"Ah, I see you're not managing too badly yet," she smiled at him, "I was just coming to pick you up for breakfast."

Not trusting his voice - reality was finally kicking in, and a lump appeared in Darron's throat - he simply nodded and allowed himself be led to the staff room. They walked in silence, Professor McGonagall trying to plan something "fun" for her teenage charge for the day's trip in Diagon Alley while Darron was fighting back tears and memories. He was _not _Harry Potter, for Harry Potter did _not_ exist. He was merely a simple wizard with amnesia.

Breakfast was a rather quiet affair, since most of the professors didn't seem to be morning people, and others, such as Dumbledore and McGonagall, were a bit worried about the new student. Darron ate, so lost in thoughts that he was oblivious to everything around him. Breakfast finished, the Headmaster, Deputy Headmistress, and Darron left for Dumbledore's office, where the latter two would be travelling via Floo Powder.

When Dumbledore pulled out a plastic plant sitting on the mantle and offered the plantless pot to him, Darron got a sense of deja vue - it was almost exactly like the first time he travelled by Floo, Mrs Weasley had offered him a flowerpot as well! As he shook his head to clear his memories, Professor McGonagall mistook the action to mean that he didn't know or remember how to travel in this manner.

Taking matters into her own hands, she declared, "Mr... Darron, do not be so apprehensive, watch me, I shall go first and wait for you at our destination. Just remember to speak clearly and you'll be fine."

Darron's lips twitched - speak clearly, that was the same advice he had been given. He watched carefully as the professor picked up a pinch of powder, threw it in the fire before stepping into the emerald green fire and stating, "Diagon Alley!" With a roar from the fire, the professor vanished.

"Your turn now, Mr... Darron," Dumbledore started.

"Excuse me, Headmaster," Darron interrupted politely, "but please, just call me Darron. Every time I hear someone say 'Mr. Darron', it makes me feel as if my name is 'Darron Darron'."

"Of course, my boy!" Dumbledore's eyes twinkled at the remark, "well then, Darron, toss a pinch of the powder into the fire, state your destination, 'Diagon Alley' clearly, and remember to tuck in your elbows, and try closing your eyes as well. I'm sure you'll be just fine." He ended reassuringly.

Darron eyed the powder, remembering how he had ended up in Knockturn Alley that first time he had used it. Sighing and attempting to banish his memories, he stepped up to the fireplace and followed the instructions properly. Tumbling out of the fireplace in Diagon Alley - he still hadn't managed the trick of landing back on his own feet, Professor McGonagall quickly pulled him up, brushed the soot from his clothes briskly, and left the area. They walked for a short while before coming to a store window with a broomstick displayed. There, they saw two dark-haired boys with their noses wedged against the window and commenting on the newest broom in loud, excited voices. Darron was surprised when McGonagall suddenly changed directions and headed over to the two.

"Black, Potter," Darron jumped when she called out the names, "good morning."

By now, the two boys, or rather, young men, turned around a greeted the professor half-heartedly. They were wondering whether they were in trouble and also wished to return to their in-depth studying of the broom. Darron simply stared in amazement - they looked exactly like the time he saw them in Snape's pensieve. This time, he was too excited to feel any sadness or melancholy. McGonagall noticed the change in the amnesic young wizard and an idea formed in her head.

"Black, Potter, I'd like you to meet Mr... Darron," she introduced.

"Er, excuse me, professor," Darron interrupted once more, "please, just call me Darron. Whenever you add a mister to it, I feel like as if my name is 'Darron Darron'."

Professor McGonagall blinked, taken back, before finally replying, "of course, Mr... I'm sorry, Darron. He will be a new sixth year student at Hogwards. Darron, this is Mr. Sirius Black and Mr. James Potter. If all three of you don't mind, Black, Potter, I'd like you to take Darron around Diagon Alley. Darron, here is the list of items you need to buy, as well as the money." She handed the parchment and pouch to Darron. "I'll meet all three of you at the Leaky Cauldron at 12:30 for lunch, my treat. And Black, Potter, behave!"

"Yes, Professor McGonagall," the two friends chorused.

McGonagall glared for a brief moment before pushing Darron towards the pair. She watched the three strike up a tentative conversation before turning to the broomstick once more. She walked off, decideding to wait until noon before she came back. Turning down another street, she soon left the young wizards to themselves and began to shop for things that she needed.

Back in front of the window display, James and Sirius began arguing over the Nimbus Nineteen Ten - the broomstick on sale - over the Comet One Fifty. Darron, unfamiliar with these older models of the broomsticks he was familiar with, stayed silent. The pair soon realized that their new yearmate wasn't joining in with the conversation and changed topics, to Quidditch.

Moving away from the store, they went down the street towards the cauldron store, the closest place in the list of things Darron needed to buy. Unfortunately, as he didn't know anything about the "current" Quidditch teams neither, they were forced to talk about the game itself instead. That started an interesting conversation as they browsed and fooled around in the cauldron store.

"Nah, I say the Beaters have it the hardest. I mean, they're always zipping around, chasing them Bludgers and wacking them and all," Sirius argued.

"The Seekers! I mean, we're forever _zipping_ around the entire field, looking for the tiny Snitch! Do you know how exhausting that is? The constant seeking?" James countered.

"Well personally, I think they're all important. After all, the Keeper has a hell of a time trying to prevent the other team from scoring, or the Chasers doing their best to score. Mind you, I've ever only played one position before, so I really can't say for all the others."

"Oh, really?" Sirius perked up, "which position did you play? Are you gonna join the teams at Hogwarts?"

"I'd love to, just depends on if the position is available or not."

"Well what did you play? Depending on your position and which house you're sorted into, we can tell you if you have a chance or not!" James jumped in

"I haven't been sorted yet, but I'm a Seeker."

"A Seeker!" Both James and Sirius laughed. "Let's hope you're not in Gryffindor then, because James here is a seeker himself and we're both Gryffindors! Let's see, Hufflepuff has a fourth year Seeker, so not much luck there. Slytherins," Sirius sneered, "their Seeker just graduated, so there, it's free. As for Ravenclaw... I'm not sure, because the last I heard, their Seeker wants to drop out this year so she could study for her NEWTs."

The mention of sorting and the four houses made Darron nervous again about his own re-sorting. Would the Sorting Hat recognize him, or would he be just another wizard? Would he stay in Gryffindor then or a different House? It was all too confusing.

"Tell me more about these 'houses'," Darron asked, wishing to hear it from their point of view.

"Obviously, the best house is Gryffindor!" Sirius grinned.

James smacked him on the back of his head before stealing the conversation, "We Gryffindors are well known for our courage! Then you have the Hufflepuffs, who are the most loyal bunch you'll ever find. Ravenclaw has got all the brains, and lastly, you have the _slimy Slytherins_," James ended darkly.

"Slytherins?" Darron prompted as he handed over the money for his cauldron.

"Slytherins," Sirius spoke, "the worse bunch ever known to walk the earth. They're all into the Dark Arts and care for no one but themselves. A nasty bunch, you don't want to be there."

Darron gulped. He could still remember the Sorting Hat's voice, telling him that Slytherin would lead him to greatness. Worried, he wondered what the pair's reactions would be if he was, by chance, sorted into Slytherin. He was pulled out of his useless frettings by the mention of two very familiar nicknames.

"Hey, too bad Moony and Wormtail couldn't be here!" Sirius whined.

Intrigued, Darron asked, "who or what are Moony and Wormtail?"

"Ah," James exclaimed while shooting a glare at his best friend, "just, two friends of ours. Moony, his real name's Remus, is feeling a bit... unwell, while Wormtail, Peter, is out in France or something with his family."

It was then that Darron remembered the full moon he saw rising while flying last night. Remus would be resting from his transformation right about now, as the Wolfsbane Potion hadn't been invented until a few years after his graduation.

For the rest of the morning, the trio discussed, argued, or ranted about various topics, from Hogwarts to the individual subjects to the Wizarding World in general. Voldemort was very much well and alive in this period of time, and there was a lot of fear and panic going on, as he was trying to recruit followers. At the thought of this, Darron rubbed his forehead worriedly, on the spot where his now camouflaged Voldemort-induced lightning bolt scar was.

Both James and Sirius noticed and frowned. They were awfully curious as to how he got such a nasty wound but were afraid to ask. Luckily for them, Darron noticed their glances and decided to explain and quench their curiousity.

"Wondering about my scar?" Darron grinned to show that he wasn't upset, "I was, er, attacked by a Mumbliar just 3 weeks ago."

The pair winced, they hadn't known that it was such a recent wound. They arrived at the Leaky Cauldron a good half-an-hour early. Deciding to wait for the professor inside, they went in, got a table for four, and ordered a Butterbeer each, drinking and chatting some more. All Darron had left from his shopping list were his robes and his wand. Everything else had been bought and piled up around their table.

Meanwhile, Professor McGonagall was standing inside the broomstick store, purchasing the newest model, the Nimbus Nineteen Ten, as a surprise present for Darron. During breakfast, Madam Hooch mentioned that he was an excellent flier and expressed his wish to join Quidditch. For all that he had been through, from the Mumbliar attack and his amnesia, she, along with Dumbledore and the rest of the staff, decided that he could use a nice surprise gift such as a broomstick to keep him from brooding. The whole staff, with the exception of Filch, who never agreed with anything that would make the students happy, had pitched in and raised the money for the purchasing of the newest model. After requesting the broomstick be sent directly to Hogwarts, she left the store and headed to the Leaky Cauldron.

Upon entering, McGonagall was happy to see the three boys talking happily. Lunch continued in the same manner, as the professor tried her best not to remind them of school or homework or rules. After lunch, James and Sirius were to return home, and asked for Darron's address so they could keep in touch before the school term started. The two were surprised to find out that he was already residing in Hogwarts, albeit a guest room, and even McGonagall promised to find a day for Darron to visit the Potters' home. All three were ecstatic to see Darron in such high spirits.

The four split up, James and Sirius went towards the fireplace inside the pub to floo home while Darron and McGonagall went back into Diagon Alley to get the last of the purchases. McGonagall had shrunk all of Darron's purchases to tiny bags and packages to fit inside her purse. The clothes were measured and trimmed first, at _Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions_, which looked the same except for the younger version of Madam Malkin, before setting off to the last item on the list, his wand.

Darron was a bit apprehensive about getting a new wand, after all, his old one had been Voldemort's twin. At the reminder of this, a thrill of horror ran through his body - what if he received that wand now? That would completely throw off his life, because if he did not receive it when he was eleven, then he would never have been able to escape from Voldemort in his fourth year. No no no no **no**! He was _not_ Harry Potter, he was _Darron_! He closed his eyes and breathed deeply, allowing his Occlumency skills to kick in.

Professor McGonagall had been calling out for Mr. Ollivander and thus, missed Darron's horror. Once again, after many tries, he finally found the right wand for himself, hornbeam containing a strand of unicorn hair, ten and three quatres inches. There was a different feel to the wand, but yet, it was still comfortable. Happily pocketing his wand, he followed Professor McGonagall back to the floo fireplace and to Dumbledore's office. He was not in at the moment, so she immediately led him back to his room, where she expanded everything and gave him time to unwrap and repack.

Darron went to bed that night with a smile on his face. He got to spend several hours with his - or rather, Harry's - father and godfather, he had a new wand which suited him perfectly, and also a possible visit to the Potter household! All in all, he looked foward to the start of the school year, all worries about sorting and house rivalries and his melancholic past as Harry Potter forgotten as he drifted into dreamland.

* * *

End Notes:  
Bloody hell, I'm tired. It's now 4:30am (I started around 2am, and before that, I only had 1 paragraph done) and I've finally finished this chapter. My longest yet! Please everyone, **read & review**! Next chapter shall be Darron's sorting, or Harry's re-sorting! Remember, all suggestions welcome, my plot bunny needs feeding! 


	7. ReSorting

Author's Notes:  
Aha! I did some research, after reading my beloved reviews. Anyway, yes, in the movie, James Potter was a Seeker, but nowhere in the books does it say that he was a Chaser. According to the site I was looking at ), the information given was that the author stated in an _interview_ that he was a Chaser. Dunno, I just thought that it'd be more fun if I could get Harry and James to duel it out in Quidditch. Plus, Sirius wanted to watch Harry play to see if he was as good as James... well it would make more sense if he could compare if the two played the same position...? Ahhh, I don't know!  
Research good. From the site above (called Harry Potter Lexicon, by the way), it said that Snape found about about Lupin sometime in sixth year (because Sirius was 16, and following Harry's age and year, that would be 6th year), and also that it was in sixth year that the Marauders' Map was made...? Dunno, if I feel like it, I might write that into my story. It really depends if I'm in the mood or not, lol.  
As usual, please **read & review**!  
What was I doing up at such an ungodly hour? Well, the movie was from 9:30pm till midnight, and since we had to drop off my host-brother's girlfriend, we got home at 1am. I took a bath and brushed my teeth and got ready for "bed", then decided that I was so happy that I got to see the movie almost 2 weeks earlier than planned, so I decided to write another chapter despite the late time. Be happy I did so! -wink- Nah, I wasn't doing anything bad... plus, it was the weekend, why not stay up.

**NOW EDITED!**

Disclaimer:  
Any other suggestions? Remember, I own only those things that you've never read or heard of before, plus my blue fluffball called my plot bunny.

* * *

**Re-Sorting**

The last ten days of summer break passed by happily for Darron. He had received his brand new broomstick the morning after his trip to Diagon Alley and was thrilled. Granted, it was nothing close to his Firebolt, but it was the best that the present time offered. Thus, he spent many hours just zooming around, and even occasionally played a mini game of Quidditch with some of the professors. Other times, he was found in the library, reading, researching, and Professor Flitwick was delighted at this trait of Darron's. He was quite certain that Darron would be sorted into Ravenclaw.

In actuality, all the teachers were busying analyzing him daily and even placing bets as to which house he would be sorted into. Darron, when he got wind of this little fact, laughed rather than got angry. He was still a celebrity of sorts, but this time, it was in a good way, because it was about who he really was rather than the world's image of him. The highest bids stood for Ravenclaw, with Gryffindor in second place, for his bravery in surviving the Mumbliar attack. Hufflepuff closely followed, from Professor McGonagall's view in how fast he became friends with James and Sirius. Professor Sinadell still kept her distance from Darron, and didn't seem remotely affected when Slytherin wasn't even considered in the bets. In truth, apart from Argus Filch, she was the only staff member who did not participate in the bet.

Darron got to spend a Sunday at James Potter's house, along with Sirius, Remus Lupin, and Peter Pettigrew. He pretended to forget about the nicknames that Sirius accidently let slip while in Diagon Alley. He could feel James and Sirius's relief at his lack of curiousity, but he could barely suppress his malevolent feelings towards Wormtail. The last time he had seen the man in person was in the graveyard the night Voldemort came back to life. That, plus the knowledge that he betrayed Harry's parents and framed Sirius into being an Azkaban prisoner for 12 years didn't help things either.

Remus had still seemed a bit tired, but was genuinely pleased to get to know Darron better. Peter stared on with suspicion, keeping mostly to himself during the day's activities. Darron himself was excited as well, this being the only chance for him to know about his grandparents. All in all, it was a day of fun for the 5 excitable adolescent wizards, enjoying the last of their holiday before school started once more.

Darron had been Harry just yesterday when he woke up on September 1st. It had been decided that when the students arrived, Darron would stay with Professor McGonagall when she greeted the first years. That way, once the regular sorting was done, Darron himself would be sorted. Butterflies fluttered in his stomach every time he thought of his sorting, despite the professors' attempts to calm him down. Finally, unable to stand his nerves no longer, Madam Hooch took him out to the Quidditch field for his last free time on the field alone.

Over the last days, he had been trying out the different Quidditich positions, in case he was sorted into a house where the Seeker position was unavailable. He found he had the knack for being a Beater, not very well as a Keeper, and about average for a Chaser. Thus, he promised that if he couldn't be a Seeker, then he would try out for the Beater position and still keep his love for the sport through that method.

Darron had been in the middle of chasing a loose Bludger when he saw it - Hogwarts Express pulling up into Hogsmeade. Madam Hooch noticed his sudden stop and flew up to him, concerned. Darron didn't see the flying professor at all, his full concentration focused on the train and its deboarding passengers. The Mumbliar's poison, rather than took out his eye, ended up correcting his eyesight - for _both _eyes, as well as _enhancing_ them. Thus, it was the reason why he could clearly see each of the individual student as they went in search of an empty carriage. The Thestrals stomping impatiently and snorting noiselessly.

He saw the sandy blond head of Remus and the two black heads of Sirius and James. He frowned in confusion at the lack of Peter, but his attention was caught when James suddenly dashed off, to a certain redhead in the crowd - Lily Evans, hi... _Harry's_ mother. Gulping, he ripped his gaze at the station and was startled to find Madam Hooch hovering right beside him.

"I see that the rest of the students have arrived," Madam Hooch said in a soothing voice. "Come, Darron," he managed to get the rest of the staff with the exception of Professor Sinadell to call him without the "mister" attached, "let's go get cleaned up and ready. There's nothing to be worried about."

Darron returned to the guest room he had been staying in and grabbed his robes. Everything else had been packed up and ready to go as soon as he was sorted. He took a quick shower, taming his hair somewhat - he decided to let it grow out, seeing as how Darron's hair had been a lot more tamed when it was down to his shoulders than Harry's short one had been - he got dressed and set off to find Professor McGonagall in her office.

The first years stared at him curiously as McGonagall explained the start-of-term banquet and the sorting to them. He trailed behind the first years when the professor finally led them in, feeling a bit out of place with the younger kids. Of course, murmurs started in the Great Hall as the rest of the students noticed Darron as well. Holding out a slightly shaky grin, he kept walking until he saw frantic movements out of the corner of his eye. Turning slightly, he saw James and Sirius waving madly; Remus was more tamed, and even Peter offered a tiny shake of his hand. His grin strengthened and grew as he turned his attention back to the Sorting Hat, awaiting its song.

There was nothing unusual about the song this year, no warning or otherwise, and the Sorting Ceremony proceeded. Some of the names of the first years sounded vaguely familiar to Darron, but he didn't dare to place too much thought upon it. Best to maintain his ignorance of Hogwarts and people than to have it accidentally slip at a later time.

In no time at all, all the first years had been sorted and Darron was left standing alone. He chanced a glance at the Marauders and they all gave him a thumbs up. He turned his attention to Dumbledore, who had stood up to explain his presence.

"You might've noticed that we have an older student with us today. No, he is not a first year." To the last sentence, laughter rang out in the Great Hall. "Due to unknown circumstances, he has lost all memory of events prior to his arrival at Hogwarts. Because of this, we as the staff decided to sponsor him here until he remembers or until he graduates. Please give a warm welcome to Darron - his last name is unknown at the moment - as he is sorted!"

Applause rang out as Darron walked up to the stool. He sat down, facing the student body, and caught a glimpse of James' and Sirius's hyperactive waving before Professor McGonagall dropped the hat on his head. As before, the hat slipped down beyond his ears. Remembering just in time, he threw his mental shield on full blast, but not before the Sorting Hat caught a glimpse of memories.

"Hmm," the small voice said, "you're hiding something, something important. You're hiding it so well that I wouldn't have noticed had I not seen that brief glance. You even have the Headmaster fooled! No doubt about it, with your cunning skills and secrets, you're best fitted for SLYTHERIN!"

Darron sat there shocked, as did all the professors and the Marauders. Darron couldn't believe that he sealed his fate by putting up his shields. He could've been sorted into Gryffindor if he had let the Sorting Hat see who he really was, but that would've started a paradox, for if he knew that Harry Potter existed, then... No, no more what if's or could be's or would've's. What had happened had happened, and the best that Darron could do was to track down the Marauders directly after the feast and swear to them that he'd remain their friend.

However, the professors and the Marauders were shocked for a different reason. From what they seen of the mysterious young man, nothing even remotely suggested that he would be sorted into Slytherin. But the Sorting Hat is never wrong, there must be something that none of them knew, or saw. And it was this _something_ that worried them.

Finally, Professor McGonagall pulled the hat off Darron's head and gently gave him a small push in the direction of the Slytherin table. As he stumbled towards his new house, he saw Professor Sinadell give a malicious grin. Shuddering slightly, he flopped down at the closest empty spot, right beside a certain Severus Snape. He was so surprised that he leaped off immediately as if he had sat on a hot iron. This younger version of the hated Potions Master turned to look at him impassively with a raised eyebrow.

"Is there a problem, Mr. Darron?" Professor Sinadell asked. Darron did not like her tone of voice.

"No, madam, I, er, I was just startled, that's all," Darron stammered slightly before he sat down once again.

Dinner was a quiet affair. Snape didn't bother to speak to him at all, and the other Slytherins plain distrusted the newcomer. With the lack of conversation to keep his mind busy, Darron soon became depressed again. He was used to loneliness for the first half of his life, but since Hogwarts he, _Harry_, had found close friends in Ron and Hermione, and now, their lack of presence was weighing him down once again.

After a seemingly long time, the feast was finally finished, the rules and start-of-term notices announced, the school song sung, everyone began to move towards their dormatories, the first years led by the prefects. Darron glanced around before dashing off after the Marauders - he had been down in the Slytherin common room in Harry's second year, and so he was certain that he would remember the way. They were halfway up the staircase before Darron finally caught up.

"Wait! Wait a sec, I just want to talk to you!" Darron called out as he tried to fight his way through the Gryffindor crowd. Everyone stopped to look at him, most glared with suppressed dislike at the _Slytherin_.

"James, Sirius," Darron puffed, staggering up the last few steps, "Remus, Peter... wait." He panted for a short bit before straightening up. "Well, I know I've been sorted into _slimy Slytherin_, but I was hoping we could still be friends." He stuck out his hand, hoping that they would shake it rather that swat it away.

The three studied him carefully while Peter sneered in disgust. However, he immediately stopped when Sirius gripped Darron's hand in a firm handshake.

"And lose our chance to insult you guys? Never!" Sirius grinned good-naturedly to let Darron know that he was joking. "You're not much of a Slytherin anyway, after all, even the professors were shocked that you ended up there!"

"Yeah," James shoved Sirius out of the way to grab Darron's hand, shaking it enthusiastically, "we dub thee, an Honorary Gryffindor! Right, Remus?" He winked at the young werewolf.

"Of course," Remus smiled warmly, "welcome to Gryffindor."

Peter simply stormed past the Fat Lady's portrait and into the Gryffindor common room. Darron stared after him in shock.

James smiled in apology and said, "he's a bit upset that we've been talking to you so much and probably feels that we're ignoring him," as Sirius climbed in, calling out the mousy boy's name.

Darron nodded in understanding before leaving, well aware of the rest of the Gryffindors' stares for being _the_ Slytherin who befriended James Potter and Sirius Black, the two most vocalized and active Slytherin haters. He slowly walked down to the dungeons, thinking about the latest turn of events. He was now in Slytherin, and a house- and year-mate of Severus Snape, the future Potions Professor who hated his guts for being the Boy-Who-Lived and James Potter's son. It was impossibly confusing. He was startled to find Snape standing just outside the stone door leading to the Slytherins' dormatories.

"Good, you're here," Snape said briskly before turning to face the portrait, "I didn't have to go track you down. The password is _serpensortia_. I'll be your roommate for the next two years here. Come on!" The last order was barked impatiently when Darron hadn't made a move since he first saw Snape waiting for him.

Darron started at the Professor Snape-like command and followed him in. Inside, Professor Sinadell was explaining the house rules to the first years. She paused as the pair came in, and turned to Darron.

"Mr. Darron," she began in a cold voice, "Slytherin has strict house rules. It would do you well to follow them."

Finished, she abruptly turned and resumed talking to the first years. Darron stared, bewildered. What had he done to annoy the professor so? And she was the Defense professor, too! Snape tugged on his sleeve towards the rooms. Inside the shared bedroom, it was damp and chilly. Darron grimaced, fighting the reality that this was to be his home for the next two years. It was just too depressing after his time up in Gryffindor Tower with all the windows and sunlight.

"This section is mine," Snape said as he pointed to the bed wedged in the corner. He paused, remembering, "I'm Severus Snape."

"Er, hi, Severus," Darron said, the name rolling awkwardly off his tongue. He had never imaged that he would call the future well-feared professor by his first name.

Severus nodded and sat down at his desk, flipping a book open and scribbing quickly on a piece of parchment. Feeling ignored, Darron turned to his trunk and began to unpack. Pulling out his robes, he ran a hand across the Slytherin badge, frowning at the foreign feeling. When he finally finished, he glanced at the clock hanging above the doorway and saw that it was already well past midnight. Sighing, he noticed Severus still working and got ready for bed. Falling into bed, he pulled his curtains shut, effectively sealing out all light, before subconciously clearing his mind. It was a routine he now did so often that he performed it every night without a second thought. While Occlumency successfully stopped his visions, it could not stop his memory-induced nightmares.

A little before four in the morning, Severus woke to the sound of someone groaning. Frowning, he grabbed his wand from its position beside his pillow and threw his bed curtains open, peering out into the darkness. Upon seeing nothing out of ordinary, he was about to head back to sleep when a yell sounded.

"Cedric, no! Don't kill Cedric! Noooo! Ahhhhh!"

Nonplussed, Severus only stared at the closed curtains of the bed in front of him. He was soon startled to hear a familiar name.

"Sirius, come back! You're not dead, you _can't_ be dead, no, not you too! Sirius!!!" Sounds of thrashing followed.

"Lumos!" Severus said quietly as the tip of his wand flared into light. From the shadows, he saw the curtained figure thrash around on the bed, limbs flailing wildly. He simply stared, confused, as he tried to understand why the newcomer, Darron, who Dumbledore had stated had lost his memories, would be dreaming of Cedric and Sirius dying. The only Sirius that Severus knew was Sirius Black, and he was far from dead, being an arrogant, egotistical Gryffindor who, along with Potter, loved to torment him. Whimpers followed, and suddenly the figure bolted up in bed. Shocked, Severus quickly whispered "nox" to stop the lumos spell and the room fell back into darkness.

Heavy breathing could be heard as Darron whispered breathlessly to himself, "it was a dream, just a dream." This phrase was repeated over and over until his breathing calmed. But rather than falling back asleep, Darron curled into a ball, unseen by Severus, as he cried into his pillow. Severus strained to hear the muffled cries, ashamed to be eavesdropping into such a private moment, but couldn't restrain himself. He also caught the names Ron, Hermione, Ginny, and he lost count after the fifth or sixth name. Severus frowned - it was obvious that this stranger, Darron, was fully aware of his past, but why or how he managed to hide it from everyone was a mystery.

An hour and a half later, as the sun peaked over the mountains, unbeknownst to the pair sleeping in the cold dungeon room, Darron's whimpers finally faded as he drifted off into sleep once more. Severus had been unable to sleep, with all these new facts about Darron becoming known to him. He laid in bed, staring at the canopy, and pondered. Try as he might, he just couldn't get the depth of anguish he had heard out of his head. Snarling, he finally got out of bed and went to his desk to work some more. Soon, the events of the last hour and a half shoved to the recess of his brain as he focused on his private works.

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End Notes:  
Heh, hope you're all fine with me sticking Harry in Slytherin! Pretty cliche, I know, but I was thinking that Severus was quite the "loner" so to speak, and pretty much the only way to get him and Harry to become friends would be to put them in close proximity with each other. But hey, finally, Severus comes into the picture!  
My chapters seem to be getting longer and longer... (likewise, my author's notes) but hey, I'm starting to get into the interesting stuff! Heh, as usual, please make me happy and **read & review**! Pretty please with a cherry on top! -wink- 


	8. Revenge!

Author's Notes:  
**Harry and Snape angst!** Couldn't help it, it's just too much fun when you torture the characters... I was having such a fun time writing (the end of) this chapter that I was having a hard time trying to keep my laughter in! I was writing during class.  
Right, so in case there's some confusion as to why I keep switching between Harry and Darron... well, Harry is him in the future, and Darron is him (now) in the past. Harry/Darron himself is trying to separate himself into two, and I'm just trying to show how hard he's struggling with the task through words... doesn't work too well, since sometimes I use Darron when he's being Harry but that's because the people around him believes him to be Darron... does that make sense?  
Please **rea****d & review**!

**NOW EDITED!**

Disclaimer:  
As usual, I own the name Darron... (no, I don't think I'll be giving him a last name) and the plot... Everything else (as in, the original stuff) is owned by J.K.Rowling and related staff and companies, and the movie people, too, I suppose.

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**Revenge!**

The first week of school did not go well for Darron. If anything, he had never had as day as horrible as his first day of classes. Due to his nightmare and grief, he fell back asleep around 4:30 in the morning. Severus, not knowing anything about the new Slytherin's habits, left for breakfast alone. There, in the Great Hall, rumours were flying fast. The news of how Darron had shook hands with James Potter and Sirius Back had spread, plus the fact that these two proclaimed Slytherin-haters even dubbed the newcomer an Honourary Gryffindor. Even the fact that they had spent time together and had kept in touch the week or so before school started became common knowledge.

Severus had snorted to himself when he heard the news. He didn't know what to think of his roommate, from his nightmare last night to him being an _Honourary Gryffindor_. He made it a challenge to find out all the secrets behind the face called Darron. Now that he was part of the Gryffindor crowd, Severus had no qualms about getting him expelled as well. He received his timetable, glanced at it, and suppressed a groan. First class of the year - and incidentally of every Monday - was Defense Against the Dark Arts with the Gryffindors. Profess Sinadell was a strict but well-knowledgable professor, but highly disliked the students, Slytherins included, even though she was their Head of House. Sighing in defeat, he finished his breakfast and left for class, not realizing that Darron never showed up.

He stepped into the Defense classroom and sat down in his usual seat. Hearing loud, boisterous voices, Severus grimaced. The Gryffindors had arrived. Black shot him a glare before the four flopped down in their seats. Frowning, he wondered why Darron wasn't with them.Scannng the class, he noticed that Darron was nowhere to be found in the room. He was pulled out of his contemplation when Professor Sinadell strode in, exactly on time as always, and slammed the door behind her. The room fell silent - Sinadell was not known to be lenient. Once class started, no one was allowed to speak out of turn. Severus allowed himself to feel a small touch of pity for Darron before returning his attention to class.

(A/N: Sinadell likes to do the register automatically by magic, in case anyone wondered about that, lol.)

Elsewhere in the castle, Darron slowly came to, waking up from a happy dream where he had been practising Quidditch with the rest of the Gryffindor team - Ron as Keeper and Ginny a Chaser. For a while, he laid on his bed, disorientated. The room was pitch black. It was a few minutes before he remembered being sorted into Slytherin and his nightmare just a few hours ago. Grimacing, he groped around blindly, instinctively looking for his glasses before remembering he no longer wore any. He paused, then resumed groping, this time in search of his wand. After tripping over his own shoes, common sense finally returned to his sleep-emptied head.

"Oh, for... Lumos!"

All the room lights came on, as did the tip of his wand. Darron squeezed his eyes shut at the sudden onslaught of light. The regular Slytherins all knew how to control just how much light was needed, or just for their wands to light up. It was another minute or two before he could see properly without squinting. He looked up at the clock and his jaw dropped - it was already a third of the way through first period! Scrambling around madly, he quickly stripped and pulled on his school robes. Dashing out into the hallway, he paused. He hadn't received his timetable yet, so he had no idea what his first class of the day was. Deciding to talk to Professor McGonagall, he took off, feeling a sense of deja vu once again. After all, hadn't he been late for the first class as Harry in sixth year?

He burst through the doors of the Transfiguration classroom, scaring the second year Hufflepuffs. Darron grinned sheepishly before walking up to Professor McGonagall, who looked slightly angry at his interruption. Uncomfortably, he was reminded of Umbridge's inspection in McGonagall's class.

"I hope you have a _good_ reason for interrupting my class, young man," the professor said sternly while taking in his appearance, from his tassled hair to the messiness of his robes, coming to the correct conclusion that he had just woke up and had no idea where to go. "Come here, I believe your professor will give you te proper punishment, so I will not add on to that." She pulled out a blank piece of parchment and conjured Darron's timetable on to its surface before handing it to him. "I hope you have a good day," she dismissed, giving him a pointed look.

Darron grinned, "Thanks, professor, sorry, I'll be on my way!"

He waved and left the classroom. Once outside, he glanced at his timetable and groaned; Defense Against the Dark Arts with Professor Sinadell. He took off down the hallway once again, praying madly that he wouldn't be torn to shreds by the professor who seemed to hold a grudge against him since he first woke up. It was like Potions all over again, except it was Defense and with a different teacher, though the feeling wasn't as strong as hate. Taking a deep breath, he knocked on the door, waiting for permission before entering.

The class was completely silent. The Marauders gave him sympathetic looks while the professor glared at him with something akin to utter loathing. After the last five years as Harry on the receiving end of Professor Snape's glares, Darron stared back levelly as he apologized. The class was amazed, _no one_ dared to stare back at Sinadell when she was in a bad mood. The silence dragged on for a few more seconds before the professor spoke up.

"For your _tardiness_, Mr. Darron," Darron flinched at the name, "I shall have to punish you. Be ready!"

Almost half of first period had passed, he was very late indeed. Darron lowered his bag on to the floor and pulled out his wand. Briefly, he worried about the attack, but soon shook it off. He had faced Voldemort multiple times, survived _Avada Kedavra _as a 15-month-old baby, successfully thrown off the Imperius curse, suffered through _Crucio_, and had been casting the Patronus Charm since his third year. Combined with his work as the DA teacher, Darron - after shaking himself out of his "Harry" memories - decided he had nothing to worry about. And he didn't need to.

"Legilimens!"

Darron's eyes merely widened in surprise. _Now_ he was definitely glad that he had mastered Occlumency before he left. This attacked, othing like the ones Snape had cast on him, simply bounced off his mental defences. He couldn't help it - he smirked. Everyone gaped at him, professor included. It was a while before Sinadell finally found her wits and ended the staring contest.

"Impressive," she muttered begrudgingly, "have a seat, Mr. Darron, and take out your books. Twenty points from Slytherin for your tardiness and you better not be late ever again."

"No ma'am!" Darron chirped cheerfully as he slid in beside Severus, the only free seat left in the class.

Professor Sinadell glared at his tone of voice before resuming class. Sirius and James risked getting caught to flash him a thumbs up. Severus ignored him, as did the rest of the class for fear of the professor's wrath. The remainder of class did not improve either, despite the fact that they only went over the NEWT objectives. For each spell mentioned, Sinadell forced Darron to cast it, even though they were supposed to be learning them over the next 2 years. Surprisingly, he already knew a fair portion of the spells - nearing half - but even so, Sinadell made a snide remark every time they came to one he didn't know. Finally, fed up, his stomach growling painfully, he pointed his wand at the professor and summoned his stag Patronus. Bad idea.

Sinadell was shocked. Patronus was such an advanced charm that even first-and second-year Aurors-in-training had difficulties performing. All four Marauders paled at the sight of the stag. Darron realized his mistake too late. Without stopping to grab his bag, he fled the room. After a quick visit to the kitches for some much needed food, he holed himself up in the Room of Requirements, willing it to take on the appearance it did for the DA meetings. In there, he sat without seeing anything. His mind supplied the images, from the first time the DA had met here and came up with the group name and elected him leader, to their first lesson on _Expelliarmus_, to Christmas and Dobby's decorations, to Patroni, and finally to the lesson when Dobby warned them to leave and hide, leading to Dumbledore disappearing. He, as Harry, hadn't found the time to resume the lessons in sixth year, and this fact depressed him greatly. It was lonely, so lonely, being here and pretending to be someoneelse when all he wanted was to hug his parents, Remus, and Sirius and never let go. It hurt too much, to be all alone after all he had been through at Hogwarts and the friends who stood by him.

When he finally came out of his trance, it was already halfway through lunch. Glaring blearily at his watch, he painstakingly got up and trudged to the class after lunch, Charms. He flopped down in his - Harry's - usual seat and buried his head in his arms. His world was coming apart and he didn't know how to fix it Groaning, he lost himself in his memories again, thinking of first year when Hermioney berated Ron for his pronounciation for _Wingardium Leviosa_ or Seamus setting the feather on fire, or in second year when Ron had snapped his wand couldn't cast a single spell correctly...

Severus had finished his lunch early and came into the classroom. Upon seeing Darron in _his_ seat, he paused, startled. Quickly, he snapped out of his stunned state of mind and sat down in the seat beside the boy curled up on the desk. Deciding that it was a good time to confront the amnesia fraud, he cast a quick charm to warn him of anyone coming and turned to prod his roommate.

"Go away, Ron," Darron was in Harry-mode, stuck in his memories.

Severus grinned, he had heard the name last night, and ignored the order - after all, he wasn't Ron - and continued to prod, feeling a sense of twisted glee.

"Ron! Bugger off! I'm trying to think!"

Severus had no idea what Ron's voice was like but tried anyway, "about what?"

Darron was too lost in his own mind to notice the difference, "just stuff."

"What stuff?"

"Ron..." Darron groaned.

"Come on, you can tell me," Severus took a risk, "I'm your best friend."

"Where's Hermione?" Severus had heard that name last night, too.

"In the library?" he chanced.

Darron snorted before sighing.

"Well?" Severus tried again.

"Nothing!"

"There's got to be something."

"Ron!" Darron - Harry, he didn't even know anymore - exploded, "Leave me _alone_!"

"No," Severus smirked,_ so close_.

"Ron!" Darron finally lifted his head up, "you won't und..."

Severus' smirk grew bigger at Darron's pale and horrified face, knowing that his fellow Slytherin knew his secret had been found. Darron, for his part, groaned. He hadn't even lasted 24 hours with the students and he had already been caught. How hopeless, he could trick even Dumbledore, but not _Snape_, never mind that it was the 16-year-old version of the man he knew.

"I knew it!" Severus had the same triumphant gleam in his eye the same night he had caught Sirius in Harry's third year. "You _are_ faking your amnesia!"

Darron groaned once more and buried his head again. He made an accurate guess that Severus had heard him talking in his sleep and came to the conclusion.

"How _Slytherin_ of you," Severus' tone was the same as when he blamed Harry for being Gryffindor in the future, "fooling even Dumbledore."

Darron flinched - the tone brought back unhappy memories. He was having a hard enough time separating his memories from his present reality, and as usual, _Snape_ wasn't helping things.

"I can go and tell Professor Dumbledore right now and get you expelled. Even better, I can talk to Professor _Sinadell_."

It was too much in one day. All his previous dislike and loathing for the hated Potions Master swelled up in Harry. For all the times he wanted to hex the man, he could now. The current Severus Snape stood at his height and lacked the experience aura of striking fear and terror into those around him that he carried twenty years in the future. A vindictive grin came to Darron's face as he wished that Ron was there with him, as well as poor Neville. Whipping his wand out, he let lose his emotions and fired every single jinx, hex, and curse he knew at the unsuspecting Severus.

Feeling supremely elated and satisfied when he finally finished - five years of grudge had been repaid, he grabbed his bag and ran for it, but not before Professor Flitwick rounded the corner and saw his disappearing form. Worried, the professor hurried into the classroom only to find the unrecognizable Severus. Shocked - Darron had never shown such violent tendencies during the weeks before school - the tiny Charms professor stood rooted at the doorway for a good five minutes before the noise of students coming towards the class returned him to reality. Severus was soon flooed to the hospital wing followed by his bag.

News travelled like comets streaking through Hogwarts. Even James and Sirius combined hadn't done such damage to the unpopular Slytherin. Everyone was disturbed but agreed that Darron had been rightly placed in Slytherin. Darron was caught that night as he tried to sneak into the kitchens after missing dinner. He wasn't expelled, although it might've been an easier punishment. Instead, his wand was temporarily confiscated and he was suspended from doing any magic for a week. A month of detentions with Sinadell and Filch alternatively plus a professor escort between classes and a 24-hour curfew summed up his "vicious attack". Apart from classes and meals, Darron wasn't allowed to leave the Slytherins' dormatories at all.

Severus took a good six days to heal. He was tempted to blow Darron's cover, especially when Dumbledore had questioned him alone, but feared a second attack. When he finally saw his roommate after leaving the hospital - he was surprised to find that Darron tried to visit him but was banned by Madam Pomfrey - Darron hadn't said anything. Neither spoke to each other for a very long time after that, until the early hours of the morning after a fateful full moon night.

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End Notes:  
Hope you liked the chapter! You can probably make a good guess as to what the next chapter will be about. Now, how to go about writing it... Anyway, is this a good pace or are you all impatient for Harry and Severus to get together? Oh yeah, another thing, usually, when I use "Snape", I mean the professor and "Severus" refers to the current 16-year-old boy. Not sure how I'll get them together, since I've never really tried writing romance stuff before. Hmm...  
Ah, yes... please **read & review**! It makes me very happy!


	9. The wereWolf who Cried Boy

Author's Note:  
Sorry I haven't updated for so long! First I had exams... then I find out that this major translations project was past the due date (even though the teacher never gave us a definite due date) so I've been cramming to finish that... Then I finished it, and just wanted to sit back and be lazy... But hey, a nice **_long_** chapter for my beloved readers!  
The title doesn't make much sense, I just wanted to do a bit of play on words, that's all. Sorry for the long wait - but hey, I decided not to be mean and leave it as a whole chapter rather than chop it in half for a cliffie.

**NOW EDITED!**

Disclaimer:  
Same old, same old... my plot bunny, my "Darron" (aka, Harry changed), my new professors... I don't own anything else.

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**The (were)Wolf Who Cried Boy**

Darron decided thathewould never be rid of fame. It seemed that regardless of what he did, or even who he became, people just loved to stare and talk about him. He really hadn't wanted to attack Severus, but when provoked, funny things always happened. The summer before he found out he was a wizard, he set a boa constrictor on his cousin Dudley, and even the summer before his third year, he blew up his aunt after she insulted his parents. Sadly, no one knew that Severus had provoked him, and he wasn't about to say. If he did, they would want to know why, and that would just make things even worse. Darron was extremely grateful that Severus chose to stay silent as well.

He really had nothing now, no invisibility cloak to sneak out with, no Marauders' Map to avoid the staff, not even someone he could truly call "friend". When he met the Marauders the morning after his attack, he found Sirius practically praising him. James had cracked a smile, but soon wiped it off his face after catching sight of Lily Evans, who glared at the whole group before storming away. Both Remus and Peter regarded him warily, his Patronus still fresh in their minds. Wishing even Hermione's admonishments, he fled the Great Hall after eating his breakfast as fast as possible.

Before heading to class, he popped by the hospital wing, wanting to apologize to Severus. His anger and hate had dissipated, leaving behind guilt for his actions. After all, a sixteen-year-old shouldn't be responsible for his actions twenty years in the future. Darron was stopped and kicked out by Madam Pomfrey who yelled at him for a good fifteen minutes for his abhorrent actions. He made his escape and ran all the way to class, certain that the mediwitch was going to chase after him with some large, harmful object in hand.

All the professors were displeased with him, to say the least. He endured the silent looks of anger and worked quietly by himself. For his first week, wandless and banned from magic, he could only do his written assignments and was failed for all practical work. As soon as his magic ban was lifted, he worked hard to catch up. With his 24-hour curfew, Darron found himself reading and re-reading all his textbooks 3 or 4 times before he finally persuaded his professor escort, who had been Professor Kentflech that day, to allow him to go to the library for some more books to read. By chance, he found a book on invisibility and disillusionment charms and learned them in the privacy of his - and Severus' - room. Severus had adopted a policy of coming in only when necessary, returning late at night long after Darron was asleep and left before he woke up. Darron wanted to apologize but didn't know how, so he stayed silent. Severus simply continued to ignore him.

Two days before the Quidditch tryouts for the Slytherins - Darron had spent a long time arguing with the staff before they agreed to let him tryout, he had no wish for a second Quidditch ban - everything changed. Stuck in the windowless Slytherin dormatories, he was unaware that the full foom drew near. The day of the full moon was just like any other day; Darron woke up, ate breakfast, went to classes, etc. There was nothing to show that anything extraordinary would happen that night.

After dinner, Severus was cornered by Sirius as he left the Great Hall.

"So, _Snivellius_, how does it feel to be banned from your own room?" Sirius gloated.

"None of your business," Severus sneered.

Sirius smirked, "I know something you'll be interested in." He dropped to a whisper, "there's a passage under the Whomping Willow. Touch the knob of the tree with a long branch and go in at moon rise." He raised his voice again, "Of course, if you're too _scared_ to go..."

Severus shoved past the Gryffindor, not bothering to reply. He knew it was a trick, with the "being scared" comment as bait, but he had wondered, for five long years, where that little crowd disappeared to at least once a month. Now was the perfect opportunity. Checking his watch and his moon chart, he realized he only had 30 minutes until moon rise. Arriving in the Slytherin Common Room, he stood with indecision. Who was to say that Black wasn't trying to make a fool of him? What if there was no passages under the Whomping Willow, he would be beaten to a pulp by the tree!

"Severus?" a fellow sixth year Slytherin witch asked.

The word registered in his brain but not the voice. He had no idea how loon he had stood there until that girl called out his name. Glancing his watch again - less than 10 minutes left - he made up his mind and went to his room. Darron looked up in shock when he entered, as he never came in this early. Ignoring the mysterous boy, Severus dumped his bag, grabbed his cloak and left in less than 30 seconds, leaving behind a thoroughly confused Darron. Shrugging, Darron returned to his homework.

While Sirius had been confronting Severus, James was getting ready for the Quidditch tryouts for the Gryffindor team. He left the change room and began to fly around the Quidditch pitch for warm-up. Soon, everyone had assembled and the tryouts began. James practised on his own, releasing the Snitch and waited for a minute before starting his chase. Halfway through his chase after finally spotting the elusive golden ball, he noticed movement in the direction of the Whomping Willow. He pulled out of his dive and looked, frowning in confusion. Remus had been escorted to the Shrieking Shack directly after their last class, so there was no reason for anyone to go there. The shadowy person stepped into a patch of moonlight and James gasped - it was Severus Snape.

James watched as the Slytherin picked up a branch, prodded at the tree,and dropped into the tunnel. Horrified, the Seeker checked his watch - moon rise was in a minute, meaning Remus would be starting his transformation in a short minute. Forgetting all about the Golden Snitch and Quidditch, James turned and zoomed towards the tree. Landing a safe distance away, he grabbed the same branch Severus had used, stilled the tree, and ran down the dark, dank tunnel, praying to whatever god was listening that he would be on time.

Severus made his way carefully down the tunnel, unaware that he had been spotted. With only the faint light of his _lumos_ spell, every shadow on the jagged wall seemed to jump out at him. He was considering turning back, certain that Sirius had led him on a wild goose chase when he heard a soft whimper. He paused, frowning as he strained his ears. Suddenly, the whimpers erupted into agonizing screams. Eyes wide, he ran forward to find the tunnel sloping upwards to a trapdoor, where the screams are coming from.

James ran like there was no tomorrow. He had no idea what gave Severus the idea to come out here, but he was certain that the Slytherin boy had no idea what it was about. He tripped over a rock jutting out from the ground and fell on his face. Groaning in pain, he laid there, gasping and clutching the stitch on his side. Before he could fully recover, Remus' painful shrieks reverberated down the tunnel. Horrified, he pushed himself up, biting back a scream when he realized he twisted his ankle in his fall. Fearing for Severus' life, he ran, ignoring all pain and focused on one thing - getting them both out alive. Unfortunately, it was too confined for hm to transform into his Animagus form.

At the end of the tunnel, Severus pushed the trapdoor open with shaky hands. Unable to see much, he scrambled up through the tiny door and stood. Looking about, he realized he was in the Shrieking Shack. Movement caught his eye and he looked, seeing a faint shadow moving about in a connecting room before breaking into another tortured scream. The shadown looked human, but was contorting into odd shapes. Half of his brain was screaming for him to run while the other half was thrilled by the mystery. His feet, having a will of their own, ignore both and moved towards the shadow.

The tunnel finally began to curve upwards as James pushed the last of his energy into the last bit of the run. His mad dash propelled him head first into the trapdoor, which burst open on impact. Seeing stars and with his ears ringing from the force of his head slamming into the heavy door, he laid sprawled on the ground, wasting precious time while he waiting for his head to stop spinning. Pushing himself gingerly up, he looked up just in time to see the tail of Severus' robes disappear into the room where Remus was.

So fascinated and horrified at the morphing shoaw, Severus never even heard the loud crash of a head hitting wood, nor noticed the movement as James Potter came flying in from the tunnel. He walked into the room, but even with his _lumos _spell, was unable to the figure huddled in the corner clearly. Feeling bold, he walked up to the trembling creature and froze in horror. It was Remus Lupin... but not.

The figure still had Lupin's face, but fur was beginning to sprout out everywhere. His limbs were elongated, and the same was happening to his face. Right on cue, he opened his mouth to scream once again, except this time, it changed into a painful howl halfway through. Severus could only stare - his brain had shut down at the sight and the only thought racing through his head like a broken record was "he's a werewolf". He was mouthing the words, but no sound came out. Remus soon finished his painful transformation and glemaed at Severus with wild amber eyes, drooling.

James ran into the room, stumbling slightly due to his ankle, and grabbed the back of Severus' robes in the nick of time. He pulled at the same time the werewolf took a swipe with his sharp claws, so that the robes were torn into shreads rather than the Slytherin's body. Something snapped and Severus began screaming at the top of his lungs.

"Move, Snape, run!" James screeched at the frozen figure before transforming into his Animagus form - there was barely enough room.

Severus kept screaming, oblivious to all except the werewolf.

James cursed in his mind, throwing Remus to the wall with his antlers as the werewolf tried to attack Severus once more. It was no use, with a human body in the room, it was impossible to return Remus to a calmer mind set. Keeping a cautious eye on the werewolf, James began gently kicking Severus' shock-stiffed body towards the direction of the trapdoor. He had a little difficulty in getting through the doorway, causing him a slash on his chest, but he pulled free, cracking the walls in the process. He risked a quick glance at the wizard behind him while staying near the doorway where it was easier to keep the werewolf at bay.

It was no use, Severus was in full-blown panic mode. He stared without seeing, not once stopping in his screams save for the spastic gasps of breath. If they were to get out of here alive, James would have to change back to open the trapdoor. He knew for a fact that Remus, in his wild form, had a lot more stamina than he did, human or stag, not to mention his current wounded and semi-poisoned self. Stepping back, he allowed the werewolf to come halfway into the room before charging and throwing the slightly smaller animal as hard as he could. Remus crashed into a pile of broken furniture with a painful howl. Changing back into himself, James ripped open the wooden door and threw Severus in before jumping down himself.

James landed in a crumpled heap on top of Severus, who kept screaming non-stop. Above him, frantic scratching could be heard, as Remus tried to break through the magically warded door, occasionally barking out a frustrated snarl. The scratches on his chest were bleeding sluggishly, the poison from the werewolf's claws slowly seeping into his blood stream. His vision spun, unconsciousness threatening at the edges of his vision. James knew that he would not be able to make it back to the castle by himself, never mind the horror stricken Severus. Having no other choice, he raised his hand and slapped the screaming boy across the face.

A ringing silence fell. The darkness crept undeterred into James' eyes.

"Snape... Severus, I need you, I need..." James didn't know what he needed, the poison slowing his thought process. With a feeble wave of his hand, he collapsed on to the stunned boy.

Severus was lost. He remember... he wasn't sure what he remembered, shock inhibiting his memories. Vague flashes of images and sounds floated through his mind, as if he was removed from everything around him There were amber eyes and sharp teeth, screaming and claws slashing through the air. Nothing made any sense. Moving from instinct rather than of his own will, he stood, drapped one of James' arms over his shoulder, and began to, unknowingly, drag his archenemy down the passage, away from the trapdoor and back to the sanity of Hogwarts. His forgotten wand gripped tightly in one hand, the _lumos_ spell had never wavered throughout the whole ordeal.

Time passed as Severus shuffled, stumbled, tripped, dragged, or pulled both himself and James Potter's unconcious body through the long tunnel. His subconscious remembered to still the Whomping Willow before going back above ground. By then, the full moon was high in the sky and it was way past curfew. Staggering through the castle doors, the unlikely pair was found by the Headmaster. After hearing a vague story from Severus - something about Sirius Black, taunting, Whomping Willow, tunnel, Shrieking Shack, Remus Lupin, werewolf, etc. - Dumbledore understood enough to escort the two boys to the hospital wing, especially since the Slytherin seemed to be unaware of the body he was half-carrying, half-dragging.

In the hospital wing, Severus was declared to be in full health but in shock. After a Calming Draft, he was escorted back to the dungeons by Dumbledore himself. Meanwhile, James had tostay overnight after being fed antidote for the werewolf poison and treated for the scratch marks, his broken ankle, and his major concussion. Letting the two boys rest, Dumbledore decided to talk to Sirius Black first thing in the morning, and to Severus Snape as soon as he recovered from his shock. Sighing sadly, the Headmaster let his mind wander to the mysterious Darron who had attacked his roommate for some unknown reason to the newest even of Severus nearly meeting his death due to a probable prank by Sirius Black in the form of Remus Lupin as a werewolf. Things were not going well.

The sound of a heavy door slammig woke Darron from his sleep. A "_lumos_" was uttered quietly and soft light filled the room. As he looked up, Darron was startled wide awake by Severus' appearance. The normally pale face was completely drained of colour, resembling a vampire's visage. His eyes were fully dilated and he moved in tiny, shuffling steps. Darron wracked his brain and started when he realized that it was the night of the full moon. Realization lit up in his bright green eyes.

"Severus?" he called out softly, barely audible.

Severus slowly turned to face him, and Darron flinched. The onyx eyes, while devoid of warmth and emotion, usually held a gleam of intelligence and determination. However, they were now blank and lifeless. Darron scanned the rest of his roommate's body, noticing for the first time, the shredded appearance. He had no doubt that Sirius' prank had happened tonight Worried, he reached out and tugged on the sleeve of the tattered robes.

"Come to bed, Severus," Darron said in a warm, soft voice.

It was that caring tone of voice which undid everything. Tripping on the torn cloth, Severus fell headfirst into Darron's chest. A few tears fell, then heart-wrenching sobs ripped out of the pale boy's throat as reality finally caught up. Flustered at the sudden change, Darron wrapped his arms around the quivering body and rubbed circles on Severus' back. He had no idea how much time had passed, but slowly, Severus, voice grown hoarse from crying, subsided in his shaking and finally fell asleep. Sighing, Darron pulled his roommate on to his bed. Arranging his blankets to cover both of their bodies, he drifted off to sleep with a vague thought in his head, '_mustn't let him be alone'_. Pulling the other boy closer, he reached up and stroked the black hair

"Not greasy... at all... mmm, silky," Darron murmured before sleep finally claimed him.

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End notes:  
Right... I tried to type my end notes twice now, but kept hitting the wrong button. Anyway, next update, don't expect it until at least a month from now. Going travelling, won't have time to write nor Internet access. As usual, please **read & review**. 


	10. Confession

Author's Notes:  
My apologies... I did say I'd update around early Sept, didn't I? I've no excuse since I honestly did procrastinate on updating. Anyway - I've edited my previous chapters a bit, so hope you're all happy with that! I might do a final edit later on and cut out all the unnecessary stuff like the A/N and end notes.  
I know I use Harry and Darron interexchangably, but that's to separate when he's acting like Harry and when he's acting the part of Darron. As for whenever someone else is looking/thinking about him, he's Darron. Hope that clears up some confusion.

Disclaimer:  
As usual... the stuff that you can find - name/plot/otherwise - in the 5 books currently out aren't mine.

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**Confession**

It was late morning by the time Harry woke up from his deep slumber. It had been a long time since he had slept properly without any nightmares or Voldemort-induced visions. Smiling in sleepy contentment, he pulled the warm object in his arms closer, only to feel and hear it grunt. Startled, he glanced down, saw the long curtains of black hair and prominent nose, and reacted before his brain caught up with him. He shoved the other boy off his bed and screamed, "Snape!"

Severus Snape fell on the ground with an "oaf". The room, dimly lighted from his entrance last night, was freezing cold after the combined warmth of the blanket and Darron. He pushed himself up and glared at his roommate who was still in bed. After a few seconds, Harry finally became Darron and he began to blush, remembering how they shared a bed last night and not even a month ago, he was just _Snape_.

"I, uh... I," Darron stammered, his face flushed.

Severus merely ignored him and went to his side of the room, wondering what he was doing on Darron's bed in the first place. At the moment, his sleepy brain was blissfully ignorant of the recent knowledge that Remus Lupin, one of the hated Gryffindors, was a werewolf who nearly killed - or turned - him.

"Look, I just... I... I'm sorry, OK?" Darron exploded, frustrated and flustered at his difficulty in speech. "I'm sorry I hexed you like that, that was uncalled for, but I just... I... I... **argh**!"

Severus' lips twitched at the last scream of frustration, but as his back was to his roommate, Darron did not see the twitch. Neither did Severus see Darron throw his hands in the air in defeat. Silence fell in the dim room as Darrn attempted to sort his thoughts into words and Severus went around, getting changed and packing his bag. Confused, he frowned at his torn, tattered, muddied and bloodied robes, wracking his brain to remember what happened.

"I'm sorry about that, too, you know," Darron said softly, somewhat mournfully.

Severus ignored him, still focused on his robes.

"I... I'm sorry you had to go through what you did, I'm sorry that Sirius and James and them are always so mean to you, I know how it feels to be bullied."

Eyes widening in shock, Severus went into hyperventilation as everything assulted his mind at once. The memory was too much and he wished that he had never remembered it. His vision began to grow dark from lack of oxygen and he unknowingly sank to his knees. The world was lost to him as his mind was caught up in memories. He did not hear Darron's frantic screams nor did he realize that the other wizard had moved to his side.

Frightened, Darron hesitantly reached out a hand and tapped Severus lightly on the shoulder. The result was instant, as Severus leaped up, grabbed Darron by the throat and slammed him on the stone floor as he pulled out his want and pointed it at Darron's head. Caught unaware, Darron could only wheeze and feebly scratch at the hand on his throat.

Returning to reality, Severus straightened and smirked, "How does it feel _now_?"

Rolling on to his hands and knees, Darron coughed, gasped, and puffed a great deal before he rasped out, "I fully deserved that."

Severus was shocked by did nothing as Darron gingerly stood. He reached up and softly felt his throat for bruising, but couldn't tell if it was just sore or if there was a bruise.

"**Don't** talk about those _prats_ if you know what's good for you!"

Darron turned to look at Severus, but he was back to ignoring his roommate. Sighing, Darron knew he had to explain himself if he was to get Severus to talk to him civilly.

"I... know what happened," he whispered.

Severus ceased his movements but didn't turn around.

Gulping, Darron continuted, "I'm here because of a prophecy." Here, he laughed hollowly, "My whole life is run by prophecies, from before I was even born down to now. Never mind that, eitehr way, I'm here, and in the normal path of things, I'm not even supposed to be here."

Severus had not moved, but Darron knew that he was listening.

"You were right, you know, my name isn't Darron and I don't have amnesia. But if I even say a word of what I knew, it would be a disaster. You understand _that_, don't you? Of needing to hide what you know because it's too dangerous otherwise?"

Finally, Severus turned around. He stared at Darron without his usual scowl or sneer, just a blank, impassive face.

Sighing for what seemed like the millionth time in the last 24 hours, Darron went on, "Look, I... I knew that Sirius was going to pull that... outrageous prank on you, but I just didn't know when. Look, they don't even know that I know! I can't tell you anything else without jeopardizing everything. I just want us to be friends, or at least on speaking terms, because it'll be a very long two years if we're forever ignoring each other. Please?" He held out his hand, desperately wishing that Severus will take it.

The taller Slytherin stared at the offered hand in mistrust before grabbing it. "Truce, for now, anything else you'll have to earn yourself." Quickly dropping the hand, he returned to his task of preparing for the day. Darron watched him for a while before shrugging and did the same. Turning, he glanced at the clock and gasped.

"It's nearly lunch time!"

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End Notes:  
Well, I've finally updated. Hope you guys like it! Please **read & review**!  
A bit short, but I've just realized that a later chapter that I had half typed out ("the return of Darron" - Darron's point of view on Hallowe'en Day in Harry's sixth year) just got completely deleted.... -cries- Now I'll have to re-do the whole thing! And I barely remember it, I had such a good section typed out, too!!! 


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